


The beginning of something.

by DoctorProfessorSong



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Abusive Reginald Hargreeves, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blow Jobs, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Child Abuse, Child Death, Cunnilingus, Dark, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, First Time Blow Jobs, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, No Incest, Past Child Abuse, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sad with a Happy Ending, Smut, Survivor Guilt, Temporary Character Death, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:40:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 52,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26936017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorProfessorSong/pseuds/DoctorProfessorSong
Summary: The Hargreeves siblings find themselves in a future they barely recognize. Their father is alive. Their home is occupied by a mixture of strangers and familiar faces calling themselves The Sparrow Academy. None of them are friendly.But it's all going to be okay. Five has a plan to restore the timeline. The rest of the siblings just need to sit tight and lay low. Just don't wander off. How hard can that be?A continuation of the story from S2 because I am impatient for more. This one is gonna get real dark but I promise I am going to give the Hargreeves a happy ending.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves/Lila Pitts, Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz, Sissy Cooper & Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 56
Kudos: 111





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a few notes on the tags.
> 
> I am going to kill some characters and it is going to hurt, but I don't plan on any permanent deaths for any major characters.
> 
> There won't be any incest but there will be references to that plot point in order to resolve it. Essentially, Allison is going to close that door.
> 
> Reginald Hargreeves is even more abusive to the Sparrows. I don't plan to tell it in flashbacks/contemporaneously, but it will be dark and some of the Sparrows will die. So don't say I didn't warn you.

“Shit” the siblings said in unison.

“These assholes, as you so succinctly put it, Number 6, are the interlopers. The failures. They destroy every timeline they touch. They are here to usurp you. This is what you have trained for . . . .”

“You need to get out of here.” a voice said next to Klaus. Next to him was a girl. He guessed she was about 10 years old. Her curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He knew that girl. Klaus stared at her in shock. His father was still rambling on about how the Sparrows had prepared for this or something, but he tuned it out.

“Hello?” she said. “You need to get out of here. They have been training for this. For years.”

“Allison.” Klaus muttered.

“What?” his sister hissed from across the room. He looked up. He felt a sharp pang of relief to see Allison standing there. His Allison. He sidled over. “We need a distraction.”

He looked around the room. His father was standing there looking smug and insufferable as usual. Klaus felt a sudden and undeniable need deep within. He wanted a drink. He wanted a bottle of something that would make it all go away. His father. The ghost Allison sitting next to him. Ben. God, he could barely look at Ben. Alive and in the flesh. They had been together for years. He had been a constant companion and, if he was being honest, they had driven each other a little crazy a lot of the time. But he still felt his absence. Acutely. Like a piece of him had been cut out. And all of the sudden here was Ben. But not Ben. This Ben had a scar on his face. This Ben had facial hair. This Ben had a hardness in his eyes that his Ben didn’t have. His Ben had gotten a raw deal and had spent years watching Klaus throw himself into any and every destructive situation he could find, but even so he had kept some of his optimism. 

He glanced up at the 5 figures above (and, was that a green cube?). It was hard to see anything with the sun behind them, but they didn’t look friendly either. Two of the figures disappeared. Five appeared behind Ben. Well, it was Five but it wasn’t. He was older. Klaus estimated they were about the same age.

“Shit” his Five said. “How many me’s am I going to have to deal with today?” 

“I heard a rumor you attacked each other.” Allison said in a rush. Klaus had never heard her rumor so quickly. 

Other Five punched Ben before he could react. They began grappling.

“Run!” The girl said next to him. It sounded like a good idea. “RUN!” he yelled at his siblings.

“LILA!” Diego yelled. Lila? Klaus thought. He looked up to see Lila and a woman with a red braid shooting fire at them from the balcony above. Behind them, something began to glow brightly.

“It’s not her.” Five gritted out of his teeth. “Come on, we have to go.” He said, pulling Diego towards the front door. 

“What?” Diego stared at Five. “I think I know Lila when I see her.”

“It’s not her, Diego. It’s a different her. She must have been adopted by our wonderful father in this timeline. Come on.” Diego didn’t move. “Oh for fuck’s sake. Luther! Help me get this moron.”

Luther grabbed Diego and dragged him out the door. 

Klaus could hear Ben and Other Five still fighting while Reginald bellowed at them to stop fighting and follow the interlopers. 

“It won’t last long. They will fight it.” The girl warned. “They trained with me.”

“We gotta get out of here.” Klaus said. “Fast.”

The siblings ran. Finally, they found an alley. They ducked behind a dumpster to regroup. Klaus leaned against the wall. He was not equipped for a run. He really didn’t want to vomit. Vomiting up ghost Ben had been enough puking for awhile. He was at full puke capacity.

“What the fuck was that?” Luther asked.

“We changed too much of the past. The timeline has been altered. Fuck.” Five said. 

Luther stared at him. 

“Basically, we changed so much of our own past, that the world we left doesn’t exist anymore. In its place is this world.” he gestured around the dank alley. “A world in which, apparently, Dad didn’t adopt us. Well, I guess he only adopted some of us.” 

“No, he adopted all of you.” Ghost Allison muttered. “You just didn’t all make it.” She was standing next to Allison. “Is this how I would have looked all grown up? I am really pretty.”she said speculatively. Klaus tried very hard to ignore her. Maybe if he ignored her, she would go somewhere else. Somewhere less disturbing.

“Who knows how many changes have been made. This is the entire purpose of the The Commission. To protect the timeline. Shit, I bet they are pissed right now. They are the only ones who can help us now, though.”

“We need to find somewhere to lay low.” Vanya said quietly. “They will be coming for us.”

“We could grab something to eat.” Diego proposed.

“We don’t even know if we have negotiable currency.” Five pointed out. “Stay here.” He instructed and walked away.

“I could rumor someone to give us some money.” Allison offered halfheartedly.

“We are not stealing from law abiding citizens.” Diego growled in his best crimefighter voice. 

“When I used to need to score, I would go to this dive bar . . . “ Klaus started.

“Nobody wants to hear the end of that story.” Five cut him off, stomping back down the alley. “Come on.” He walked back down the alley. 

Klaus looked at his siblings. Allison shrugged. “I guess we better follow him.” Vanya added helpfully. 

They walked after Five. It was funny, he mused. They all just followed this crotchety old teenager. In his more charitable moments, he gave Five credit for wrangling them in. In his less charitable moments, he figured they let Five boss them around because nobody else wanted to be in charge. Either way, Five seemed to have a plan which was better than anything anyone else had at the moment. Maybe there would be booze where they were going. That would be a nice surprise. Wherever it was, he hoped it was close. His boots featured a slight heel which was great for aesthetics, less great for walking. He started to channel his inner Nancy Sinatra.  _ These boots weren’t made for walking.  _ He thought. Five stopped suddenly and Klaus had to catch himself before barreling into him.

“This is it. Come on.” Five said shortly. 

“It” was an old, decrepit looking apartment building. The sort of place where there are rats in the halls and stains on the ceiling and everyone just pretends they don’t hear their neighbors fighting through the paper-thin walls. Klaus has spent a lot of time in buildings like this one (and substantially worse) but he suspected the rest of his siblings had not. His Allison cringed a bit.

The front entrance had probably been locked at some point, but the lock was broken now. They walked past mailboxes, many of which hung open. The elevator had a large sign that said “OUT OF ORDER.” Five walked over to it anyway and began pushing the up and down button in some sort of sequence impatiently. The doors popped open with a ding.

“Maybe we had better take the stairs.” Allison suggested.

“It’s fine.” Five said through gritted teeth.

Ghost Allison looked at her counterpart. “I have to agree with myself here. Why don’t you summon me once you get up there.” Klaus snorted in acknowledgement and stepped into the elevator. The rest of the siblings filed in after.

“So help me,” Diego said to Luther, “if you fart again . . . .”

“Shut up.” Luther said and whacked Diego who ducked into Vanya. She made an indignant sound in protest. 

The buttons were all dark except for the one that read 13. Well, that wasn’t ominous at all. Five pushed that one and the elevator lurched towards the highest floor in the building. 

“What is this place?” Vanya asked quietly.

Five had relaxed visibly once they got into the elevator. “It’s a safe house. The Commission has them sprinkled all over time and space.”

The doors opened and they walked into a hallway. There was one door at the end. Five walked up and entered a code into a keypad. A slight pleasant chime sounded and the sound of a mechanical lock thunked. He opened the door and they walked into a large sitting area.

The apartment looked to comprise the entire top floor. It was surprisingly clean, modern and well appointed. The floors were a grey marble tile. There were two couches and a few chairs sprinkled around the room. An open concept kitchen was straight ahead and four doors led off of the main room. 

“We should be safe here. I doubt anyone will bother us. This place is only for emergencies. Besides, we wiped out a good portion of the agents in the attack.” Five assured them. He walked to the kitchen and began digging around in a cabin. He pulled out a coffee maker. “Come to Daddy.” he said.

Klaus collapsed onto a large chair, placing his stolen hat on a table next to him, and closed his eyes. He tiredly summoned ghost Allison.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Tired.” he muttered. 

“Well, there will be time for that later. For now, manifest me.”

“Mmmm.” He muttered.

“MANIFEST ME!” she yelled at him.

He cracked an eye. “What?”

“If you are anything like my brother, Four, you won’t translate what I am saying verbatim. So manifest me. I want to help. I know a hell of a lot more about this world and the Sparrows than you do.” she said.

“Wait, what?” He sat up and stared at her. “You had a Klaus too?”

“We called him Four.” she corrected.

“They called me Four too. Before my Mom named me.”

“You had a mom?” she asked, a twinge of jealousy in her voice.

“You didn’t?” he asked. What had happened to Mom in this iteration, he wondered.

“No. We were raised by my father and cube.” She said. He stared at her blankly. “Cube is an artificial intelligence.” She explained. A small rush of sympathy ran through Klaus. Their childhood had been fucked up, but Mom had at least provided a measure of comfort. 

“Shit.” he said. Very eloquent, he chastised himself. Ghost Allison just shrugged.

“Who are you talking to?” Vanya asked. 

“Just a ghost.” Klaus said dismissively. He really didn’t want to open this can of worms right now. 

“Great.” said Five in the other room. “The ghost can tell us about this timeline. Manifest him. Or her. It. Whatever.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Klaus demurred. He looked at Allison. She was seated next to Vanya. This was going to suck.

Diego sighed loudly. “Klaus, why can’t you just be helpful for once?” 

Klaus felt a wave of irritation. He knew Diego had just been joking about leaving him in the past, but still. His siblings always did this. They never trusted his judgment. Sure, he had earned some of it. Probably most of it. He hadn’t always been the most trustworthy person. Years of addiction and trauma and lies. His siblings had no idea what he had been through. Not really. His therapist from the last stint he did in rehab would have said “You need to open up Klaus. You keep it all bottled up inside and try to drown it or burn it. People cannot trust you until you open up to them. Show them what is going on inside of your head.” He could hear her voice. It was good advice. Worthwhile advice. He probably should have taken it. Maybe he would have, but he made the mistake of looking at Diego who put his hands in the air and shook his head as if to say “come on, loser.” Anger bubbled up inside of him.

“Fine. If you know so much.” He directed powers to ghost Allison. She became more solid. She looked almost alive. The others gasped. Allison made a small keening noise.

_ Shit. _ he thought. He was an asshole. “Guys, meet ghost Allison.” 

“Three.” she corrected, giving him a side eye.

_ Great. They all hate me now.  _ He slumped a bit.

Allison stared at Three. “Jesus.” she said. “So, I died in this timeline. You died? Instead of Ben? Um, Six. Is he Six to you? The one who called us assholes?”

“Yes. He is Six. I am Three. That grumpy teenager is ‘Five.’” She looked at Luther, a flash of guilt ran across her face. “You look like One, but not quite like him. He didn’t have the hairy body.” She stared at him speculatively.

“Am I Two?” Diego asked. She nodded. And “I think she’s Seven.”

“How is that possible?” Allison asked. “How can we have the same numbers? And what happened to the rest of us? Other than Five and Six?.”

“Well,” Three said looking around. “What happened to the rest of you? Where are Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen?”

They stared at her. “What?” she asked.

“There were more of you?” Allison asked.

“There weren’t more of you?” asked Three.

Five walked over, a coffee cup in hand. “That bastard. He must have hedged his bets after meeting us. He ‘acquired’ more kids. As for the numbers,” he said, “that is easily explained. The timeline seeks to restore itself. I suspect we will find a lot of things have ended up in the same place, even if they got there another way. That’s how this all works. That’s why the Commission can restore the timeline by making minor changes.” 

“So, what happened to them?” asked Allison. “The rest.”

“It’s a long story.” Three said, a hint of dejection in her voice. “And a really really shitty one. Maybe I should start at the beginning.”

  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Special Providence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She had been waiting for them. Her father had drilled into the Sparrows over and over that enemies were coming. Enemies that would look familiar. A threat to them. To the world. 
> 
> But Three had realized something else. These "interlopers" were her best bet at vengeance for all of the things her father had done. This world wasn't so hot. At least her corner of it. And it was clear that these versions of her siblings represented a threat to Reginald Hargreeves. That made them natural allies in Three's book.
> 
> “It’s a long story.” Three said, a hint of dejection in her voice. “And a really really shitty one. Maybe I should start at the beginning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: This is a fairly dark chapter with lots of references to violence and abuse. Also some referenced self-harm. All of it is slightly removed because it is being retold by Three.
> 
> Don't expect updates this fast all the time. I had already started this chapter when I finally posted the first one. :) I will try to update regularly, though.

Three looked around at her siblings. Well, sort of siblings. Four looked thin. Sick, maybe? Her Four had looked like that too at the end. Their father had pushed him so hard. 

One looked shockingly different. Something had happened to him other than just growing up. She was curious, but she also figured it was probably more bullshit from her father. It always was. Two sat next to him. He was absentmindedly playing with a knife. She smiled. He was so much like her Two. She flashed back in her mind to Two falling. She couldn't save him. She felt herself flinch a bit. 

Seven had been so young. Would she have been like the quiet girl sitting next to the adult version of Three? Hard to say. She had barely known Seven, really. It was before they had been permitted to train together regularly.

And then there was her. The alive, adult her.  _ Allison.  _ She turned the name over in her mind. Over the years, Three had thought about changing her appearance. She could. She had changed her clothes before. But she thought it might be weird for Four and then he was gone and nobody else could see her. She couldn't even see herself. She wasn't sure she would have gotten it right. That version of her was so sophisticated. So polished. Would Three have been like that? If things had been different. 

Finally there was Five. He was odd, wasn't he? Why was he so much younger? Something to do with his power? Had he traveled forward at that age to team up? That didn't feel right. He reminded her of herself. Older than the form he was in. 

She had been waiting for them. Her father had drilled into the Sparrows over and over that enemies were coming. Enemies that would look familiar. A threat to them. To the world. 

But Three had realized something else. These "interlopers" were her best bet at vengeance for all of the things her father had done. This world wasn't so hot. At least her corner of it. And it was clear that these versions of her siblings represented a threat to Reginald Hargreeves. That made them natural allies in Three's book.

“It’s a long story.” Three said, a hint of dejection in her voice. “And a really really shitty one. Maybe I should start at the beginning.”

*****

"On the first day of October in 1984, forty-three women spontaneously went into labor, despite not having been pregnant at the start of the day." 

"Yeah, yeah, we know that part." Five waved impatiently. He was seated on the edge of one of the chairs, black coffee in hand. 

Three gave him a look and continued. "Reginald Hargreeves, my father, acquired thirteen of the mysterious babies. As I understand it, he did this through largely illegal and unethical means. He paid off some of the mothers. I know that because he once yelled at me about how much I had cost him. I guess my mom drove a hard bargain. He didn't do it alone. A woman helped him. As far as I can tell, she may have kidnapped some of us and she definitely killed Ten's parents because she told my father that when she came to collect on their deal."

"What did she get out of it?" Five asked. 

"One of us." Three said. "Nine. Well, she goes by Lilly now. The woman wanted her pick of the litter, so to speak. Lilly can disguise herself as anyone. The woman said that would 'come in handy in her line of work.' Whatever that means."

"What did she look like?" Five asked. 

"Blonde. Wore old-fashioned clothes."

"Mom?" Diego asked.

"I don't think so." Five replied. "Did you ever hear her called by name?"

"No." Three answered. "But my father did mention a title. The Fixer?"

"The Handler." Five corrected.

"That's it." Three affirmed. "Do you know her?"

"Oh, yeah. I know her." Five said tightly. There was a story there. Three wasn't sure she wanted to know. 

"She actually raised a different kid before. The one who mirrors powers." Diego offered. 

"That's Ten." Three clarified. 

"We know her as Lilah." Diego said. "She's my girlfriend. I think. Well, she was but she was also working for The Handler. We have some things to work through."

Three scrunched up her nose. "Gross. You are dating your sister?" 

"She wasn't our sister. We didn't meet her until recently." Diego clarified. 

"Can we get back on track?" Five snapped. He was as impatient as her Five. Maybe it was just his default personality setting Three mused. 

"Anyway, there were thirteen of us. In addition to Nine or 'Lilly' and Ten or 'Lilah,' we had Eight . . . you saw her, with the fire? . . . ." They nodded. "Then there is Eleven, he can manipulate electrical currents and electronics, Twelve, who can make himself invisible, and Thirteen, who had superspeed."

Three looked around. This was where the story got hard. Not for the first time since she died, she wished she could cry. Really cry. She settled for sighing. An affectation, obviously, as she didn't need oxygen.

"We were raised by our father, Green Cube, which is actually an AI system, and a string of highly discreet nannies trained by my father not to coddle us. At least until we were old enough to act independently. We had no contact with the outside world. I don't think anyone even knew about us. Dad didn't want to have to answer any awkward questions. For years, we trained largely separately. I think Dad wanted our first loyalty to him and not our siblings." 

"Sounds lonely." Four said.  _ Klaus  _ she corrected herself. 

"It was. Even when we saw each other, it was in competition. That's why I barely even knew Seven." She smiled apologetically at Vanya. "She was gone before Dad let us spend time together."

"What happened to her?" Vanya asked quietly. Her eyes held a sadness in them. Three suspected things hadn't been all rainbows and unicorns for her either.

"Twelve killed her when we were six. Dad claimed she lost control of her power. That Twelve happened to be there to help. But I knew the truth. Twelve wasn't very good at sneaking around back then and I heard him hit the table in the hallway that night. I think Dad was scared he couldn't control her. He didn't want her turning on him. She was really powerful."

"Jesus Christ" said Vanya. Allison put an arm around her. They seemed close. Three felt a sharp pang of emotion. Jealousy? Sadness? Regret for what might have been? 

"Dad was worried about controlling Vanya in our timeline too." Allison said. "But he just had me rumor her to make her think she didn't have any powers. It was awful. A violation. But killing her?  _ That bastard. _ " She spit out.

"Yeah, well. The story doesn't get better." Three said simply. "Twelve became the favorite. He got special rewards. He had proven his loyalty. Eight in particular became desperate to prove herself as well. She was vicious. She got her chance a few years later."

Three's voice began to waiver with emotion. "Four, Eleven, One and I started sneaking around at night. Eleven would manipulate Green Cube into thinking we were in our rooms and we would sneak up to the attic. We talked about what it would be like if we escaped. We shared our secrets and our fears. It was nice. Not to be lonely." She smiled wryly. "Dad found out. My guess is his favorite, Twelve, spied on us. One night I had asked One to meet me upstairs. I was on my way when I heard the commotion. Dad dragged One into the training area and woke us all up. He told us that a threat was coming and only true loyalty would do. The price for disobedience, he said, was death."

Three couldn't even look at Luther. Couldn't look at any of them. She stared at a spot on the floor. " _ Eight volunteered. _ She volunteered to kill him. One didn't even put up a fight. He couldn't bring himself to hurt Eight. He was like that. Kind. 'Soft,' Dad called it." 

She raised her eyes and looked at Luther. "I got you killed." She said mournfully. 

"No!" Allison said. "Your father and Eight murdered him." 

Luther nodded. "And if he was anything like me, he would have died any day rather than watching any of his siblings get killed. He would have been glad it wasn't you."

Three swallowed. "Yeah. Yeah, he was like that." She said sadly. 

"That put an end to that. We stopped meeting. Dad pushed us harder. We were allowed to train together. I thought Eight might kill us all. She was competitive. Even the favor Dad showed her after she killed One wasn't enough. We worked hard. There was no downtime. Thirteen cracked under the pressure when we were 10. She said she couldn't take it anymore. She tried to escape. To run. She was so fast. But Dad sent Eleven after her. Told him to take care of her or he would be killed. Eleven electrocuted her. Struck her down from behind. I don't know if he became a true believer or if it was out of self-preservation. All I could think about was that sweet boy in the attic dreaming of a different life."

"Damn." Five said. "That is brutal. And I am a trained assassin." Three stared at him. Definitely a story there. Almost through hers now. 

"I knew my 'loyalty test' would come sooner or later. The next year, Dad came to me and told me that he needed my help. He said Two was disloyal. I don't actually know what set Dad off. Something about Two wanting to work for the good guys and wondering if Dad was one. He told me that we needed a villain anyway. He planned to debut us to the public and a supervillain would give it more impact. He wanted me to rumor Two. Make him a villain so that we could publicly fight him. I refused. In fact, I rumored Dad. Tried to make him forget the whole thing. It seemed to work at the time. Apparently, he is immune. Or maybe Twelve was eavesdropping. Twelve does that a lot more than I realized. I can see him now. His power actually works by manipulating light and I guess since I don't have actual eyes . . . ." Three shrugged.

"Regardless, a few days later we were training. I was paired off with Two." She looked at Diego sadly. "There was an accident and he fell. He died. I couldn't save him. Dad blamed me. Told the rest of my siblings that failure was not an option. Then he had Ten neutralize me and Six kill me. Tore me apart." She said shakily. "It was a set-up obviously. The last loyalty test before he took the team public."

"Fuck." said Allison. Three couldn't really improve on that sentiment. 

"Why did you stay?" Klaus asked. 

"In part, because of you. The other you. Four was a mess. He was going to get himself killed. But also, vengeance. I want Dad to pay."

"Oh, he is going to pay." Allison said. 

Vanya looked at Five. "Our Dad was bad. Abusive. He experimented on us. He treated us terribly. But this Reginald is beyond that. Did we do this? Did meeting us change him that much?"

"Impossible to know what happened without more information. But we will fix it. We have to." Five responded.

"What happened to the other me?" Klaus asked. 

"Dad didn't use him the same way he used the others. Four had a particularly useful power and Dad had plans for it. He would make Four summon the recently dead. I think sometimes he even helped them along. You can hurt ghosts. Did you know that? Dad made Four torture answers out of them. Sensitive information about his enemies. Stuff like that. Four hated it. He started harming himself. I was able to keep him going for a while, with thoughts of vengeance and, honestly, just by being there. But eventually he had enough. He stood up to Dad. At that point, loyalty of the team was a given. The remaining kids were true believers or faking it well enough. Plus, I don't think Dad wanted any of my siblings to know that someone had stood up to him after all these years. Or maybe he wanted to leave the door open if he ever really needed Four again. Who knows. Anyway, instead of killing him outright, he had Five send him back in time. Somewhere miserable. Somewhere he wouldn't come back from."

"Where did he send him? When?" Klaus asked Three.

"Vietnam."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a lot of dialogue, so hopefully it still flowed for you. 
> 
> The title is reference to Hamlet. "There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow." The fall of the sparrow bit is pretty obvious, but I also liked the concept of a special providence as a slight hint of the Vietnam reveal at the end. There is going to be some overlap between the story so far and the lives of the characters in this world. The timeline re-asserting itself. 
> 
> If anyone is interested in reading chapters in advance or providing feedback on the story I have planned, I would be forever grateful. Just let me know if you have any interest.


	3. Safe harbor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus reacts to the news that his counterpart also went to Vietnam. The siblings get some downtime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: there will be drinking and hangovers in this one. Also references to a character death (Dave). Some references to binge drinking, anxiety and depression. I think that is all of it. 
> 
> I had this written for most of the week, but work is bananas, so it took awhile to finalize. I will try to get updates out weeklyish, but I have a major project that could interfere.

Klaus shot out of his seat, yelled something unintelligible, and ran for the door.

_ What the fuck is he doing? _ Five thought. In a flash he remembered Klaus, itchy and clearly feeling the effects of time travel.  _ Vietnam? He was in Vietnam?  _ Five felt a rush of sympathy but immediately tamped down on it. Now is not the time.

Five teleported in front of the door. "Stop." He put his hands up trying to get Klaus to take a moment to think it through. "Klaus, you can't go out there."

"He could be alive. He could be alive and know who I am. Maybe I saved him."

It clicked. Klaus lost someone. Violently.  _ Guess that explains the dog tags. _

"Klaus, whoever it was you lost in Vietnam, he isn't out there. What you find? It won't be what you are looking for. He may be dead. He may not have known you at all. Your time in Vietnam may not have overlapped or you may not have been in the same unit."

Diego must have caught up because he said behind Klaus, "Wait, you were actually in Vietnam? I thought you were just being an asshole."

Next to him, Luther looked totally lost. Vanya and Allison . . . didn't. Interesting.  _ We really need to do a better job communicating.  _ He thought.  _ If the damn world would stop ending. _

"Yes." Klaus replied. “I was in Vietnam and I fell in love with someone. His name was Dave.” Klaus’s voice broke. “He died in my arms. I tried to save him when we went back in time. I have to know if it worked. Even if he doesn’t know who I am”

Five knew the devastation well. He remembered the sight of his siblings. Dead and lifeless on the ground. Then, he remembered watching them helplessly as the bomb went off. He knew that look of desperation. He had felt that very feeling.

Five was so fucking tired. When was the last time he slept?  _ It’s been years _ , he thought a bit hysterically. He dug deep for some patience . . .

“Klaus, weren’t you listening to mini ghost-Allison over there?” 

“Three!” she corrected.

Five waved his hand. “Not the point right now. There are homicidal superheroes outside of this door who have made it their life mission to kill us. You can’t just walk out of here and go searching for him. You will get yourself killed. You will get him killed, if he still happens to be alive. And he very well may not be. Even if he survived Vietnam, it’s been a long time now.”

"They will be looking for you." Three added. "Green Cube will have multiple units out. The police will have an APB."

Klaus slumped a bit. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "Do you even need me? I mean, you are going to reset the timeline anyway."

Five softened. “Yes. We need you. You are important." Klaus looked unconvinced. 

"Besides, we need her." He gestured at Three. Five pretended not to see Klaus's resignation at that. "Look, Klaus, I’m sorry. It’s just too dangerous.”

“Is there booze?” Klaus asked in a defeated tone.

“In the kitchen.” Five confirmed. 

Klaus poured himself a generous glass of tequila. “Anyone else?” he asked. Everyone took him up on it except Five, who was too tired for anything other than coffee, and Three, who was incorporeal.

Five looked at his siblings. They looked like hell. None of them were in any condition for this. "Look, we're safe here. For now. Three, is there anyway they can track us? Assuming they didn't follow us? None of your siblings have some sort of location power, right?"

Three shook her head. "Nothing like that. Green Cube is good, but it's just an AI. It will be combing the city with its drones. But it won't be able to see us in here." 

Five nodded. "Okay. Then I am going to get some rest. Stay in the safe house. There should be plenty of alcohol and nonperishable food. There are four rooms with multiple beds. Tomorrow, Diego and I will hit the Commission. We need access to the Infinite Switchboard if we are going to fix this."  _ And I have to figure out how The Handler is involved. She was dead. How did she come back to this timeline? Tomorrow.  _ He thought. "The safe house is soundproofed, so do whatever. Just stay put."

He walked into a room at random and collapsed face first, fully clothed, on the closest bed.

*******

Three watched her almost-siblings with amusement. They were drunk. She had seen Four drink, but it had always been a sad event. He would go on a bender, crying and drinking until he couldn't see her anymore. She let him think she couldn't see him either. It was kinder than telling him she watched him all night, terrified he would drink himself to death. Knowing there was nothing she could do if he did. 

But this? This was nothing like that. Klaus and Allison had found the closet full of disguises. They were putting on a ridiculous fashion show for Vanya. She, in turn, was rating them and laughing. 

Allison came out in a wet suit with yellow rain boots and a matching hat. "The latest in water repellant couture." Allison sold it as she walked down the imaginary runway, striking poses as she went. 

"I give it a six." Shouted Vanya, outright giggling. Allison pouted. "Perhaps you did not see the jewelry." She laughed, showing off a ridiculous fake ruby and diamond necklace.

"Oh!" Laughed Vanya. "That changes everything. Eight and a half." 

Allison pumped her fist. "Yes! Take that, Klaus!" She grabbed her drink which sloshed onto her wetsuit. "And it's functional." She proclaimed. 

Klaus peeked around the corner. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet. Laaaadies, I present to you, the perfect day-to-night outfit." He stepped around the corner. He was rocking a gray suit jacket on top. The slight shimmer of a black tube top peeked through the front. On the bottom he wore rainbow sequined leggings. Allison let out a huge whistle. Three started laughing. "Why do they even have those pants? What undercover job could possibly require them?"

"So I can look amazing," Klaus responded, doing a little twirl. Allison, Vanya and Three cheered. 

On the other side of the room, Diego and Luther were having some sort of intense conversation about the moon? They both looked very earnest. 

Three shook her head. They were delightfully ridiculous. She thought about what could have been. She knew that her Dad had not been kind to them either, but at least they had each other. 

Klaus was getting drunk. Three could feel herself fading. "I am going to go do some recon." She said. "See you in the morning."

"Night, me!" Allison said, slurring slightly. 

"Night, other-me." She laughed. 

******

Klaus cracked an eye open. He had made it to a bed.  _ Yay me!  _ He thought. The room was dark. There were no windows to give him any indication of the time. He vaguely remembered stumbling to bed the night before in the room with all the disguises. He reached out and felt the wall.

"Mmmm" he groaned as he rolled over. He flailed his hand about until he found a table with a lamp on it. He felt along the base of the lamp until he located a switch. He clicked it and immediately regretted it. He buried his head in his pillow. He was tempted to turn it off and go back to sleep, but the lure of coffee was too strong.

He slowly let his eyes adjust and looked around. It was just him. The bed was covered in clothes as were the two other beds in the room. He looked down. He was still wearing the tube top, which was bunched up around his waist, and the sequined pants. He grabbed a comfortable looking T-shirt and some soft black pants and changed. He gave himself a cursory look in the mirror and shrugged. He looked boring but comfortable. He grabbed a blue and pink scrunchie on the way out and pulled back his hair. That was better. 

Klaus stumbled through the door. 

"There he is!" Five said cheerily. He looked happier. He was standing in the kitchenette wearing navy slacks and a white button up shirt. 

Klaus blinked. "You changed."

Five laughed. "Yeah. I do that from time to time. Turns out I don't have to wear a uniform anymore."

Klaus smiled. "You are dressed like an old man." He teased. 

"I AM an old man." Five pointed out. "Coffee?" 

Klaus nodded and sat in a stool while Five poured him a cup. Klaus took a sip and felt the warmth all the way down. He looked around. The rest of his siblings were already up. They were laid out about the living room in various states of hangover. Three was seated next to Allison watching them in bemusement. "Maybe it's not so bad that I can't join in on the fun." 

He waved a hand at her and helped her manifest. "Morning!" She said brightly. Allison,Vanya, Luther and Diego groaned out a greeting.

"Great! You're here. Let's get started" Five said brightly, rubbing his hands together.  _ Is this how Five is when we let him sleep? _ Klaus wondered. 

"Listen, I have to go to the Commission. Diego, you come with me. You know the place and may be able to sweet talk the switchboard folks."

Diego nodded. "Could be where Lila went as well. Maybe she can help us with the Murder Squad. No offense, Three."

Three smiled. "They murdered me, so none taken. They are pretty worked up, by the way."

"What do you mean?" Five asked.

"I went to see what they are up to last night. Dad is pissed. Yelling about how they missed their opportunity. They were up most of the night doing drills. They are canvassing the city now." 

"Great. Okay. So, the rest of you sit tight. Got it? There should be plenty of supplies. A weapons closet is in that room." He pointed to the far room. "I will open it before I leave. It is for emergency defense only. Got it? I am not going to teach you the elevator code because you won't need it, but there are credit cards that will work here in this drawer if there is an emergency, and there is an emergency exit leading to the stairs over here." Five opened a cabinet and clicked a switch. It swung out. Behind it was a metal door. "The door locks behind you. Do not use it unless there is a fire or another apocalypse or something. Come on, Diego, let's get you geared up."

Diego followed Five reluctantly. Klaus was starting to feel human again thanks to the coffee. He walked into the living room and flopped down next to Luther. He saw a remote and pushed the "on" button. A wall opened up and a screen began playing the news. 

Sketches of them appeared on the screen. ". . . should be considered armed and very dangerous." Finished a newscaster. 

"Oh yeah, I should have mentioned. You are all over the news." Three said. Klaus sighed and turned the TV off.

Five and Diego reappeared. Five was wearing a jacket and held a briefcase in his hands. “Okay, seriously guys. Just stay put. We will be back soon.” He activated the briefcase and he and Diego disappeared in a flash of light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't work it in without getting to morose (and I wanted some levity), but its intentional that Klaus (who lost someone) is being silly and ridiculous with his sisters (who have both lost their significant others).
> 
> I know Luther and Diego haven't gotten a lot of story. I promise I have plans for them too. 
> 
> Let me know if you are willing to read in advance. I would particularly love someone to say "this isn't in character" or "this isn't canon." 
> 
> Leave a comment! They give me life!


	4. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus, Vanya, Allison and Luther work to come to terms with the past. Klaus tries to keep his promise, but memories of Dave interfere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Klave-heavy chapter with some mild set-up for the other siblings. 
> 
> CW: ghosts and death, unnatural/young death, reference to character death (Dave), depression

Klaus stared at the ceiling. He had been up most of the night. He talked to Three for awhile, but he ran out of small talk and didn't want to get into anything too heavy with her. Logically, he knew Three was his age, but she looked like a child. Besides, she wasn't Allison. Not entirely. Not that he had really opened up to her either. She didn't need his problems. She had her own fresh loss to worry about.

The only person he had ever really opened up to was Dave. His heart ached.  _ Dave. Are you out there? Are you happy? Are you the same kind and generous man I knew.  _

Klaus closed his eyes. He felt tears leak out of them. He flashed back to Dave in his arms, blood pouring out of his chest. He took a deep breath.  _ Focus on the good memories.  _ He told himself. He flashed on one of the nights they shared on leave. The salt on Dave's skin. The taste of alcohol on his tongue. The feeling of being seen, being touched. Both of them so alive. He remembered the awe in Dave's eyes. Klaus had been with a lot of people, but it had never been like that. To be seen like that. To love and be loved. 

Then he remembered another night. The night he told Dave about his powers. 

**Vietnam**

**1968**

It was one of those hot sticky nights. The sunset hadn't provided much relief. The air was heavy. 

It was a bad night. The dead would not leave him alone. "Please. There has been a mistake. I can't be dead." One soldier would plead. "Please, you have to get a message to my mom." Another would beg. Klaus longed for something to make them go away. Or at least something to dull the pain. They were so young. 

He finally gave up on sleep after a particularly nasty visit from an angry ghost. The man, a young soldier with blond hair and clear blue eyes, had yelled and screamed for hours. He kept insisting that Klaus do something. "Why would you be able to see me if you couldn't help?" He raged. Klaus didn't have an answer for that. It was something he had been asking himself for years. The guy finally ran out of steam and started sobbing. Klaus had said something vaguely comforting and fled. 

Dave was on watch. He was smoking a cigarette and looking out into the jungle as Klaus approached. He looked up and grinned. Klaus's heart fluttered. Nobody had ever looked as genuinely happy to see Klaus as Dave did. Klaus wondered if Dave had any idea what his smile did to him. 

"Hey." Dave said. "Couldn't sleep?"

Klaus shook his head. He didn't trust his voice not to waiver. 

Dave looked at him. "You okay?"

Klaus faked a smile. "Sure. Of course. Just needed a cigarette." He lied. He pulled a pack out of his pocket and lit one. He took a long drag and felt the nicotine flood his system. He was almost able to hide the way the cigarette shook in his hands.

Dave stared at him a minute. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Sure. All good." Klaus tried to laugh it off, but it rang hollow. 

Dave was quiet for a moment. He stared into the jungle. "You don't have to hide from me, you know. Whatever it is, you shouldn't have to face it alone."

Klaus felt tears pricking the side of his eyes. He swallowed. "You'll think I'm crazy." Klaus said quietly.

Dave threw his cigarette on the ground and put his hand on Klaus's shoulder. "I won't, Klaus. I promise. I . . . I care about you."

Klaus closed his eyes and took a drag. "I see ghosts." He waited for Dave to laugh. Or take that condescending tone people use when they think you are fragile and crazy. Instead, he squeezed Klaus's shoulder. Then he let his hand drop. Klaus missed the contact.

"Oh, that explains a lot." Dave said. There wasn't a hint of disbelief or amusement in his voice. Just quiet support. "So, that's how you knew about the trip wire last week?"

Klaus looked at Dave dumbstruck. He was just going to accept that Klaus spoke to dead people? "You believe me?" He asked.

"Of course I believe you, Klaus. Why would you lie about that?" Dave's gaze didn't waver. Klaus felt the urge to wrap his arms around Dave and bury his face in his neck. Klaus tamped it down hard. 

"Some people haven't been so open-minded." Klaus said.

"I was a sensitive Jewish kid growing up in Texas." Dave said sympathetically. "I can assure you that  _ some people _ are assholes. Fuck 'em."

Klaus felt a genuine laugh escape his throat. "Yeah, they are, aren't they?" 

"So, how does it work? If you don't mind me asking." Dave said.

Klaus smiled. It was nice to have someone to talk to about it. "I can summon ghosts, and even manifest them so other people can see them. But most of the time, they approach me. Ask me for things. Tell me their stories."

"The trip wire?  _ Was _ that a ghost?" Dave asked.

"Yeah." Klaus affirmed. "Some guy who calls himself Bones."

"Seriously?" Dave asked. He looked shocked and a bit sick.  _ Shit. _

"You knew him." Klaus said. 

"Yeah. Yeah, he was before your time. He was our Squad Leader. Sergeant Bonelli, but everyone just called him 'Bones.' He was a good guy."

"He said he feels an obligation to watch over his men." Klaus said sadly. 

Dave was quiet for a while after that. "Does everyone end up like that?" He asked quietly. "I grew up believing it doesn't matter what happens after we die. What matters is what we do while we are alive. The people around me believed your soul went to heaven or hell if you didn't follow certain rules." His voice got flat. "Regardless of how good you were during life. If you weren't like them you were damned.” He shook his head. “But nobody considered a third option. Roaming the earth unable to talk to anyone." He shivered. "I don't know how I feel about that." 

"No. Most people see a light and they go into it. The ghosts? They have unfinished business. When they finish it, they can rest. Or at least go into the light. I don't know what happens after that."

Dave nodded. "And the other place?"

Klaus shrugged. "No clue what happens after the light, but it seems peaceful. Whatever it is. And the ghosts I meet? They're just people. Good people. Bad people. Sometimes their business is good. They want to watch over someone. They want to tell someone they love them. Sometimes it's not as good. They want revenge. They are angry. They are held here by hatred or bitterness. Doesn't seem to be a distinction. Between them or the light they see."

"That's . . . surprisingly comforting." Dave said.

"Less so when you have them keeping you up at night." Klaus said sadly.

Dave looked at him, sympathy in his eyes. "It's probably pretty bad around here, huh?"

Klaus nodded, thinking of the sobbing kid next to his cot. "Can you help them? Move on?" Dave asked.

Klaus sighed. "Yeah, but it's hard. I can't exactly have open conversations and I can't always give them what they want. Plus I am scared they won't stop coming. If I help."

"Oh." Dave said. They sat in silence. Klaus pulled out his pack again, offering one to Dave. 

"Maybe you should try anyway." Dave said gently. "To help the ones you can. Maybe it will help when you get the ones you can't help. But either way, I'm here. If you need to talk." 

Klaus wanted to pull him close. But he just nodded. "Think I'll go to bed now. Thanks Dave."

"Night, Klaus."

*****

In his bedroom, Klaus took a shaky breath and sat up in bed, back to the wall and knees against his chest. Not for the first time he wondered if Dave had gone into the light without saying goodbye because of that conversation. His heart ached. 

Klaus had promised Five that he would stay put, but it was killing him.  _ Did this version of me survive? If I had survived, I would have stayed away from the Sparrow assholes too. But what about Three? I would have summoned Ben.  _ He missed Ben.

Klaus wondered idly if he would be jealous if he found a version of himself with Dave. He wasn't actually sure. He remembered Dave as he saw him last. So young. He had wanted to wrap him in bubble wrap and protect him from the world. From his family and bullets and bigotry. He decided that the best case scenario was finding Dave alive with a partner who cared for him, whether it was other Klaus or not. Dave deserved to be happy. 

"Fuck it" he said out loud. He threw on a new shirt and some black jeans. He grabbed a baseball cap. Boring and unremarkable.  _ What are they going to do? Kill me?  _ He remembers the last time he died.  _ With my luck, I'll just end up back here.  _

Vanya was seated on the couch, watching TV, when Klaus walked out of his room. He walked over to the drawer and grabbed a credit card.

"What's going on?" She asked. "Klaus? Where are you going?"

"Sorry to disappoint everyone again, but I just really need some takeout." He was going for a light joking tone, but it failed. 

"Klaus," Vanya said quietly, "I understand." 

Klaus stopped and looked at her. She was so small, huddled on the couch like that. "Vanya . . . " he started. 

She waved her hand. "Go." She said. "I'm fine. Well, I will be. She stayed to take care of Harlan. I love her for so many reasons. She is smart and kind and strong. But one of the reasons is that she is an incredible mother. You should have seen her, Klaus. On the bad days . . . she fought through them. She dug deep. And when there was a victory? Her joy . . . ." Vanya smiled sadly. "After our childhood, how could I not admire that?" 

Klaus nodded. "I get it."

"You'd better go. Before the others catch you." 

Klaus ran over to the couch leaned over the back, and gave his sister a kiss on the head. "See you soon." 

"You'd better." She smiled. "Be careful. Okay?" We said seriously.

Klaus swung open the emergency exit. "You got it." He pulled the hat down on his head and started down the stairs. 

*********

Luther stared at the ceiling. He had slept but he felt just as tired as he had been when he laid down. He tried to work up the energy to get out of bed.  _ Come on, Luther. You can do it. _

But he didn't want to get out of bed. He didn't want to face watching his sisters grieve for their relationships. Yesterday had been awful. He had been hungover and tired and every time he walked into a room, Allison gave him sad puppy dog eyes, or suddenly stopped talking to Vanya with a guilty look.

Some days he missed the simplicity of the moon. Believing he was doing something important. Trusting that his Dad had a plan. Things had been simpler then. But it had all been a lie. 

He felt like a failure. An idiot. He had believed his job was to protect his siblings. To save the world. Instead it turned out that he had been a fool. 

Then he landed in the 60s. He thought he had managed okay. He couldn't exactly blend in. So he found a job where his body was an asset and made a place for himself. Not a particularly luxurious life. In fact, a pretty lonely life. Still, he made it through. 

But then here comes his family. Two have have built entire families. Allison is married. Again. Vanya has a freaking kid. Diego is a bit of a mess, but even he has managed to find a girlfriend.  _ Meanwhile, all I am good for is a fight _ , he thinks morosely. He can't even blame his freakish body. He didn't fit in in the 1960s, but his sisters had it worse. _ Allison couldn't even speak _ .

He closes his eyes. He will give himself ten more minutes. Then he will face the world.

*******

Allison stares at the ceiling. She is thinking about Ray.  _ Is he thinking about me too?  _ She stops herself, remembering that he is probably dead. Even if he isn't, it has been years for him. Decades.  _ Did he think about me? Did he miss me this much too?  _ She wonders. 

For years she dreamed of returning to her present era. And now that she was here . . . . Her one solace should have been Claire. But she can't exist in this reality. In her place is a ghost version of Allison. 

She hears voices outside her door. She should get up. She should do something. She rolls over and goes back to sleep instead.

******

Vanya lays back on the couch and stares at the ceiling.  _ Five's going to be so pissed.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it is probably a little silly, but I loved the concept of them all staring at the ceiling and facing their past. Everyone's processing and I wanted to show some of that. The show does these great parallels visually and there isn't really a way to do the same in writing, but I tried. 
> 
> Leave a comment! I get unreasonably excited about them.


	5. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luther seeks a purpose. Klaus learns more about Dave's fate. And his counterpart's. Diego and Five make an unwelcome discovery at The Commission. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I struggled a bit with this chapter, but I had made a lot of progress only to get hit by a hurricane. We are fine. Just some minor property damage. It didn’t leave me with a lot of time to write, though. Then again, the internet went down today, so I got a day off and some time to work. So there you go.
> 
> Things are accelerating in this chapter. CW: Luther is struggling with depression and body dysmorphia. There is some heavy stuff going on in his head. There are also some references to addiction, some canon-typical violence. Mild references to the incest plot but as noted, there is no incest in this fic. Let me know if I missed anything and I will update. 

Luther was in the mood for a fight. He was angry at his father. He was angry about his body. It was too big. It didn’t fit in the world. He was angry that there was always some new problem. He was angry at his sisters for looking at him like he was some pathetic kicked puppy. He was angry at Klaus for doing the one thing he had been instructed not to do. And, if he was being honest, he was angry at himself. 

There was no easy target to hit. He couldn’t go after his dad. Not yet anyway. He certainly wasn’t going to go after his sisters (who he recognized, deep down, were just worried about him). He longed for a good, clean fight. Instead, he stomped around the safe house, snapping at Vanya or Allison when they tried to talk to him. 

He had woken to find Klaus missing. Allison was freaking out about what would happen to him. Vanya was not. She had clearly been in on it, or at least knew about it. Luther didn’t understand why Klaus always did this.  _ Why can’t he just listen for once? Why does he always have to disobey? Why am I always stuck picking up the pieces? _ Klaus was the fun one. Sure, he was unreliable and made terrible choices, but he was still the one everyone wanted to spend time with.  _ Nobody appreciates me. _ Luther thought bitterly. 

Luther knew he was being unfair. He loved Klaus. He DID. He was worried about him. He just didn’t like feeling so helpless. So directionless. He wanted to do something. Maybe organize a search party to find Klaus and drag him back to the safe house. But that wasn’t going to work here. So he settled into anger. It was easier.

They made lunch, as it was. The safe house was stocked with nonperishable food and MREs. Nothing fresh. Nothing to make the food a bit more palatable. Fuel for the body and nothing more. Luther had an MRE. It was cheese tortellini, which wasn’t so bad compared to some of the other ones he had eaten. It wasn’t great, but the calorie-dense meal filled him up, which was nice. 

Luther was still sitting at the kitchen counter on a stool when Vanya left to take a nap. Allison looked at Luther with sad eyes and his heart dropped. It was time for The Conversation. He had known it was coming. Had been dreading it. 

“Luther,” Allison said kindly, “we need to talk.”

The food settled into a rock in his stomach. Did they really have to do this now? 

“Okay. Talk.” he replied. It came out harsher than he intended and Allison winced slightly.  _ Dammit, Luther, do you have to be such an asshole?  _ He just really didn’t want to talk about this. 

“Look, Luther, being with Ray . . ., it showed me what a healthy relationship could be. I loved him and he loved me. We made each other better.”

“That’s great, Allison.” Luther said cutting her off. He really didn’t want to hear about how wonderful her life had been with Ray. Not right now. 

“Luther, just listen, okay? I thought . . . . When we were kids, we didn’t have anyone else to connect with. We forged a bond based on what we had gone through. But shared trauma isn’t a relationship. This isn't coming out right." She waved her hands.

"For a long time, I didn’t let myself heal. I used my power to surround me with the things I thought I wanted, but I didn't let anyone in. Didn't let myself care about anyone. Except Claire." She got a faraway look. 

"I think you may be in the same place I was, when I got sent back. I want to help you. Get through that. As your sister. As your friend. Not as . . . . Well as family. Do you understand?”

Luther was quiet for a moment. He didn't know where to start. He wanted to tell her that she was the one who didn’t understand. She had managed to build a life while he had struggled to find anywhere he belonged. People looked at him like he was a monster. Sometimes he felt like a monster. He towered over people menacingly. Even when he was smiling. People wanted nothing to do with him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried. But he just couldn’t connect with people and they didn't want to connect with him. The anger of the day drained out of him. He was left with overwhelming exhaustion. “I get it, Allison. I just don’t think I have it in me to talk about it right now. I am going to go lie down.”

He walked to his room and closed the door. Luther stared at himself in the mirror. It was jarring. He still expected to look normal. After all this time. He still expected to look like he used to.  _ Before. _ Luther turned the mirror around so he wouldn’t have to see himself anymore.

He needed a life.

Luther thought about Klaus. He wondered if he had found the man he was looking for.  _ Dave. _ Luther couldn’t really imagine it. Loving someone that much. Wanting to be with someone that much. Allison was probably right. He probably didn’t  _ love love  _ her. But if that wasn’t  _ love love,  _ what was? He thought back to the woman at the club. Sex had been . . . underwhelming. Maybe he did it wrong. Maybe something was wrong with him. Probably a lot of things were wrong with him.

He needed a focus. He needed to DO something. Who knew when Five would be back. Meanwhile, the Sparrows were out there plotting. His father was out there plotting. He couldn’t let them hurt his siblings. They were all he had. That was something he knew. That was something he could be sure of. He loved his siblings and it was his job to keep them safe. 

He cracked his door open. Nobody was in the living room or kitchen. He walked to the emergency exit as quietly as he could. 

He stopped, turned around, walked to the kitchen, and wrote a note. 

_ Gone to do some recon. Be back in a bit. - Luther _

Luther nodded. That should do it. 

He opened the door and headed down the stairs. He got about halfway down when he realized he hadn’t grabbed a credit card.  _ Shit. Well, no turning back now. I will be back soon anyway.  _

***********

Klaus stood outside the VFW. This was it, the moment of truth. Maybe. It was very possible that there wouldn’t be a picture at all. Or that only one of them would be in it. A pang hit him. He wanted a drink. A lot of them, actually. He pushed the thought aside, adjusted his hat downwards and walked in. 

He walked to a wall covered with pictures. He clutched the dog tags absently as he looked at them. Klaus swallowed a gasp. There, in front of him, was a group of soldiers, arms slung casually around one another. In the middle, he and Dave grinned broadly, as if laughing at something the photographer had said. 

“Christ on a cracker, you look just like him. He had shorter hair, of course.”

Klaus jumped. Behind him stood an old man. Klaus guessed he was in his 70s. “Um, sorry, you startled me.

“How are you related to him?” The man asked.

“I’m his nephew.” Klaus lied quickly. Klaus did some math. “Great-nephew. On my mom’s side.”

The man looked at him sympathetically. “I am sorry for your family’s loss.” 

_ So he died then. _ Klaus thought. He smiled sadly. “Yeah, but I heard stories about him. Growing up. Everyone loved Uncle . . . .”  _ Shit, what name did he go by? Four? Surely not.  _ “My uncle.” he finished uncertainly. 

“I am glad he is remembered. We were so damn young.” The man said sadly. “I’m Rob.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Klaus.” Klaus replied.

“Named after him too, eh?” Rob said. 

_ Interesting. Is this more of the timeline reasserting itself? _ Klaus wondered. His name wasn’t exactly common in the US. Klaus nodded. “What was he like?” he asked curiously. He wondered if his counterpart had felt as lost as he had. 

“Weird.” Rob laughed. “Sorry. He was a nice guy. He was just a little . . . unusual. Honestly, we weren’t that close. If you want to know about him, you should ask Dave. They were best friends.” He looked at Klaus closely, as if trying to decide whether to say something else. “Truth be told, I think they were more than that. But it wasn’t even on my radar then. I normally wouldn’t tell you, but you seem like the type that wouldn’t mind. Besides, you should know how important he was to Dave. If you are going to seek him out.”

Klaus’s breath caught and his throat tightened.  _ He’s alive. He’s alive. My Dave is alive.  _ He closed his eyes a minute, trying to hold back the tears. He looked at Rob again who looked concerned. “Sorry, I guess I just always wanted to know my uncle. You know? Anyway, so this Dave. Where can I find him?”

A look of sadness passed on Rob’s face. “He used to come around a lot, but he hasn’t been coming in much anymore. Here, let me give you his address. I took him home a few times after he had a bit too much to drink.” Rob grabbed a napkin from the bar and scribbled out an address. 

Klaus forced himself not to grab it and run out the door. “Thanks.” he said quietly. 

“Listen,” Rob said, “if you see Dave tell him we miss him around here.”

Klaus nodded. “Will do.” He waved at Rob and walked out the door. 

******

Sometimes The Commission was filled with the efficient click clacks of determined footsteps and typewriters. Sometimes it was chaotic, with the sounds of agents rushing about and the powers that be demanding updates. Over the years, Five had seen the full spectrum from quiet efficiency to full chaos. But when he phased into The Commission with Diego, Five witnessed something entirely new. The Commission was silent. 

"Hello" he called out. His voice echoed up the stairs and down the halls. He didn't hear anything in response. 

"Where is everyone?" Diego asked. "LILA!" he tried. 

"Come on. I have a bad feeling about this." Five said. His heart sunk as they found empty room after empty room. The furniture was covered in dust and cobwebs. The switchboard was quiet and dark. 

"Shit." said Five. "I don't know what happened here, but it does explain how the timeline is so messed up. Somebody took out The Commission. We have to tell the others."

Five programmed the briefcase and activated it. Nothing happened. He tried again. The briefcase remained stubbornly inoperable. Five yelled and threw it at the wall.

"It's broken?" Diego asked.

"Obviously." Five said as he stomped off to see if he could find an operational briefcase. 

****

After the 10th case, Five threw up his hands in disgust. "It's hopeless!" Five yelled. 

"Can't you just use your powers?" Diego asked.

Five sighed. "Without The Commission, the timeline is unstable. I can't guarantee we would end up in the right time and place." Five looked away. "Besides, I don't have that level of control. The Commission is technically set in a time bubble."

Diego stared at him blankly.

Ok, let me simplify. "We traveled in time and space to get here. We would have to do the same to get back to everyone else. My time travel is a bit unreliable, if you didn't notice."

Diego nodded. "OK. Well, when I need to get better at a new weapons or combat technique, I practice."

Five opened his mouth to say that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard, but he stopped himself.  _ Small jumps.  _ He thought.  _ Start small. _

"That is . . . not the stupidest thing you have ever said. Come on." 

Five led Diego to the training gym. It was the largest and most open area of The Commission. He wouldn't want a minor miscalculation to end up phasing him into a wall or something. 

He walked into the double doors, Diego trailing behind him and stopped. In front of him was . . . Him. Smiling smugly and holding a bag of half eaten chips. 

"Jesus. I wasn't joking. How many of me do I have to handle today?" Five scratched his neck absentmindedly. 

The other Five grinned. "Oh, the day is still young." He disappeared. 

Five looked at Diego. "Is that what it's like when I do that?"

Diego nodded carefully.

"Wow, that's annoying." He said. The other Five popped back in. "Oh, and the trick is to remember to account for the delay."

"The delay?" Five asked.

"Yes. We have been so stupid. When we phase through space we don't do it instantaneously."

"Of course. It's fast but there is . . . ." Five's eyes widened.

"A delay. That's what I said." His counterpart replied. 

Five nodded. "If the time manipulation was short, it would be minimal. But if we are talking about a major time shift, the calculation would be way off."

His counterpart nodded again. "Like say, whoops, we all ended up exactly a year apart because I forgot to consider the delay for each person traveling with me."

"If we are talking about annoying traits," Diego cut in, "I would say talking to yourself without including the others in the room ranks pretty high."

The Fives turned to tell him to shut up when a third Five popped in, flipped Diego off, and popped back out. 

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Five laughed.

"Well, we kinda nailed it." The other Five agreed. 

Diego rolled his eyes.

"Don't screw up." Five's counterpart said. Then he turned and phased out. 

Five stared at the spot he had disappeared for a second. "Huh." He said to himself. "Diego, do you happen to have some paper and a pen?"

"Of course." Diego replied. "Never know when you will have a good idea." He pulled out a small notebook and pen from a pouch on his harness. 

Five stared at him a second. He had not expected that. "Thanks," he said, taking the pen and notebook.

He opened it. On the first page, Diego had scrawled:  _ shoes with knives on them  _

Five turned the page. There was a stick figure of a man with knives for fingers. Below it said  _ Edward Scissorhands? _

Five stared at the drawing. He started to say something but remembered that he had work to do. He sat down on the floor and began scribbling. 

****

"Got it!" Five declared.

Diego was throwing knives at the wall. He was clearly bored.

"You sure?" Diego asked. "Because I don't wanna be stuck here indefinitely if your experiment goes wrong."

"I have this." Five said with more confidence than he felt. The depressing truth was that he had to figure this out. Otherwise, they were both stuck here indefinitely.  _ What the hell happened here?  _ He pushed the thought aside. "Besides, I clearly do figure it out."

Diego looked at him skeptically. Five tried to smile. Diego looked worried. "Just wait here, okay?"

Diego slid down a wall to sit on the floor and waved for him to go ahead. 

Five did a little half wave back and phased out. He phased in to the gym, but the place wasn't empty. Around him, people were screaming. A woman in athletic clothes saw him, turned, and ran away. The doors burst open and a teenage boy burst in. He was tall and thin, with dark skin. Electricity sparked at his fingertips.. He wore a familiar uniform and a mask. Well, almost familiar. Where there should have been red piping was green instead. The argyle sweater was green and blue. He suspected the crest was different as well.  _ Sparrows!  _ He thought. 

The boy shot light from his hands towards the fleeing woman. She fell to the floor silently. She lay motionless, her eyes staring sightlessly.

"Eleven." Five said.

"Five? What are you doing down here? I thought you were clearing out the offices on the third floor." A confused expression crossed Eleven's face. "What are you wearing?"

_ Shit.  _ Five phased away before Eleven could figure out there was something really wrong.

*****

The gym was dark and quiet.  _ If I am stuck here all alone much longer, I will learn to time travel myself just to kick Five's ass. _

Five reappeared.

"Took you long enough." Diego said. He was sitting on the floor eating a candy bar. 

"How long was I gone?" Five asked. 

"A few hours." Diego replied. "Admittedly, I did wander off to the vending machine. Want something?" He gestured to a pile of chips and candy. 

Five grabbed a bag of chips and began eating them while he paced. "I still don't have it quite right. I reversed time slowly when The Handler killed everyone before, but I have to be able to account for bigger chunks of time." 

"When she what?" Diego asked.

Five waved his hand. "I fixed it. It's fine." Five said distracted. He grabbed the notebook and began scribbling. "Got it."

"Still annoying, Five."

Five looked up and grinned. He phased out. A moment later he was back, middle finger extended. "Did you just . . . " Diego started, but he was talking to empty air. 

Diego blinked. Five reappeared. "I did it. I went back to the moment before we walked in here."

Diego blinked. "Did you tell them . . . us about the delay? Maybe you should be more specific this time."

Five snapped and disappeared. A moment later he was back. 

"Did you tell them about whatever you figured out?" Diego asked.

"No. Better to preserve the timeline. Besides, it's important that I mess up. Otherwise, I wouldn't have seen Eleven." Five responded.

"OK, are you doing this on purpose?" Diego asked. "Cause you are starting to piss me off."

Five looked at him as if he was just now realizing what things must have looked like on Diego's end. Diego sighed. "What did you find out?"

"I went back too far. The Sparrows, they attacked The Commission. Dad must have realized they would come to correct the timeline. Maybe he got the information from The Handler. Or maybe he was working with someone else. Whatever it was, he was thorough." Five gestured around the room. "They seem to have gotten everyone."

"Well, not everyone." Purred a voice. A woman stepped out of the shadows. She wore a black dress with a full skirt. A black shawl was attached in the front with a large spider brooch. The red eyes glinted in the low light. Her blonde hair was perfectly curled and a large black hat with veil and a large bow sat atop her head. She walked forward and her red stilettos clicked on the floor. 

"Hello, Five. Diego." The Handler smiled. "Ooh, chips!"

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled a bit with Luther. I think he is clearly dealing with some stuff in S2, but he bottles so much inside. I hope it worked.
> 
> I have some pretty intense Klaus stuff coming up including a smutty flashback. I think it will be in Chapter 6, if you are wondering where that tag comes in. :) 
> 
> I got a bit silly with the Five/Diego stuff. Hope you liked it. I 100% want to see Diego Scissorhands. Maybe for Halloween


	6. Strange bedfellows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five and The Handler face off. Klaus works up the nerve to go to Dave. Luther finds more than he bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in a weekend? This is what happens when I don't want to use all my data (hurricane induced outage is still ongoing)
> 
> CW: Klave smut. The Handler flirtation

Diego glared at The Handler. "No! These chips are not for you. These chips are reserved for people who aren't manipulative, abusive assholes." 

Five snorted. "He has you there." 

The Handler shrugged and lifted an eyebrow. "Well, you're loyal. I will give her that." 

She reached into her pocket and withdrew a lighter. There was a flash of light as she lit the cigarette in her holder. She took a drag. The ember glowed in the low light. 

"How are you here? You are supposed to be dead." Five said.

The Handler laughed. "Can't keep a good woman down."

Five glared at her. 

The Handler sighed. "You know, Five, you used to be more fun. Anyway, you have nobody to blame but yourself.  _ You  _ were the one who saved me." 

Five stared at her. " _ What? _ " 

"There I was, minding my own business, when you showed up and kidnapped me, sending an imposter in my place to the farmhouse." 

"Why would I do that?" Five asked skeptically. 

The Handler sighed. "Our interests aligned. You needed me to get Lilly. I wanted to keep breathing. Apparently, she is part of your big plan to restore the timeline. You didn't tell me much more than that." She pouted. "It's like you don't trust me."

Five stared at her. He wondered what her angle was. She always had an angle.  _ Maybe staying alive is enough of an angle in this case.  _ "You aren't exactly known for your honesty." Five countered. 

"Hey, my word is good." She replied. "You asked me to save your family and I did. All of them. You asked me for a case, and I got you one. All this hostility can't be good for you." 

Fives eyes widened. "All of them." He repeated. "Dammit, this is your fault. You brought the bastard back."

"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes. "You and your siblings stomped all over the timeline."

"Okay, so where is she?" Five asked.

"I'm right here" said a voice. 

A teenage girl walked out from around the corner. She had a thin, solemn face and long dark hair that fell halfway down her back. Five guessed she was about fifteen. Her eyes looked older. Sadder. "Sorry, you know how Mom loves drama."

"So, what, this kid is going to pretend to be you? How does that do anything? Won't she just die in your place? That's pretty fucked up. Even for you."

The Handler looked at him pointedly. "You used to be more ruthless too." She took a drag of her cigarette. "That's the good part. Lilly here can change her entire body. She can move her internal organs around. She can make herself look dead. She can actually shift into non humanoid forms. She will be fine."

"Though I hate doing that." Lilly said. 

The Handler looked at her sharply. "You will do what needs to be done, young lady." 

Lilly sighed and nodded, clearly unhappy about it.

The Handler continued. "All you need to do is drop her off and kidnap me. Convince me to go along with your plan. Don't worry, you will be very persuasive." She winked at Five. He rolled his eyes.

"Drop me off at this time and these coordinates. I will get Lilly back to The Commission before you get there and my debt will finally be paid. I can go on a well-deserved vacation."

Diego growled. "Oh I will give you what you deserve."

The Handler put her hand up. "Now, Diego, the grown-ups are talking."

Diego reached for a knife. 

"Chill, Diego." Five put his hand on Diego's shoulder. "Trust me. I get it. She is very killable. But we can't risk screwing up the timeline any further."

Diego crossed his arms. "Fine."

"Give me the damn coordinates." Five grumbled.

******** 

Klaus stood in an alley across the street from the apartment building. It wasn’t that much nicer than the safe house building. A man stepped out of the front door. Klaus heart stuttered. He recognized Dave. Despite the years. Despite everything. He just knew. 

His heart sunk.  _ Oh Dave.  _ He was hunched over, ambling slowly down the street. He looked like every step was painful. Klaus fought the urge to run over and scoop him up.

He watched Dave walk down the block. Part of him screamed,  _ go back to the safe house.  _ This was a bad idea. He remembered Dave as a teenager. So earnest and full of promise. So heartbreakingly optimistic. So conflicted. 

The Dave he had met later (or earlier, time travel was so confusing) had been somewhat harder. War did that to a man. But he had also been so open. So kind. Klaus had loved him. He remembered the night he had told Dave how he felt. The night they had admitted everything that had been building up between them. 

**Vietnam**

**1968**

Klaus pushed Dave up against the hotel room door and kissed him greedily. He ground his hips against Dave's, their hardness meeting. Dave groaned in his mouth. Klaus began kissing Dave's neck. It occurred to Klaus that they hadn't talked about this. He pulled away, even though it almost killed him. Dave groaned. 

Klaus put his hands gently on Dave's face. He kissed him softly on your lips. "Dave, tell me what you want."

Dave put his arm around Klaus’s waist, running his fingers along the bare skin there. "I think it's pretty obvious that I want you." He looked down, slightly embarrassed. "I don't have the most experience. Um, I only ever kissed a guy once on a dare. I pretended I didn't like it. And, well, I slept with a girl in my class. I hoped . . . ." He trailed off.

Klaus’s heart stuttered. He didn’t usually go for inexperienced partners. But then, all of this was new to him. He wasn't the relationship type. He didn't typically feel this way about his partners.  _ Holy shit, I love him.  _ Klaus realized. He filed that away for later. 

He lifted Dave's chin gently. "Dave, look at me." Klaus stared into his blue eyes. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Certainly not with me. Never with me." He kissed him gently. Softly. He took Dave's hands and led him to the bed. "So we take it slow. Find out what you like." He whispered. "We don't have anywhere to be."

He laid Dave back onto the bed and straddled him. He leaned forward and kissed him. Deep and slow. Tongue darting in and out. He kissed along Dave's jaw and began kissing his neck. 

"How's this?" He whispered in Dave's ear. Dave ground his hips up and they both moaned. 

"Fuck, that feels good." Dave said.

Klaus began kissing down his salty chest, unbuttoning Dave's shirt as he went. Dave's chest was hard and muscular. Klaus ran his hands across it. 

"Oh, yes. I definitely like that." Dave said as Klaus dipped lower, kissing down his abs and towards the top of his pants. 

Klaus unbuttoned his pants and pulled Dave's underwear and pants off. He began kissing Dave's thighs.

"Fuck. Yes. Yes, that is good."

Klaus grinned. Dave's cock was hard, glistening with pre-cum. He was huge _.  _ Klaus desperately wanted to taste him.  _ Those assholes missed out back in Texas. Too bad, cause he is all mine now and there is no way I am letting go.  _ He filed that away for later too. 

Klaus leaned forward and licked the tip. Dave whimpered. Klaus took that as a sign to continue. He ran his tongue up the bottom of Dave's dick. Dave moaned. "Klaus." He said urgently, his hips bucking. 

Klaus put his arms under Dave's legs and lifted them, then he took Dave's entire dick into his mouth. 

"Oh" Dave yelled. "Oh yes. Please. Please please please." He begged. 

Klaus built to a rhythm. He wanted Dave inside of him, but it was clear he wasn't going to last this time. It was fine. They had all night. It was more than fine. Dave was making little moaning noises with each thrust and Klaus’s cock twitched with need. It was the hottest thing Klaus had ever heard.

"Klaus." Dave said, his voice strained. "Klaus, I'm going to . . . ."

Klaus moaned "mmm-hmmm." Dave bucked his hips, going deeper into Klaus’s throat. 

Klaus took a finger and ran it along Dave's hole. Dave whimpered. Klaus eased his finger in. Dave came apart."Klaus!" He screamed as he came down Klaus’s throat. Klaus nearly came undone himself. His cock was painfully hard against his pants. He slowed. He pushed up, kissing the tip of Dave's dick and pulling himself up to lay beside Dave. 

"Holy shit." said Dave. 

Klaus smiled. "So we can confirm you like blowjobs." 

Dave grinned. He kissed Klaus. Deep and slow. 

"Can I try that?" Dave asked. 

Klaus’s cock twitched as he thought about Dave's mouth on him. "Are you sure? You don't have to, if you don't want to. I want this to be . . . " Dave silenced him with a kiss, rolling Klaus onto his back. He pulled back and looked at Klaus. 

"I am very, very sure." Dave said, a predatory gleam in his eye. 

Klaus pulled off his shirt and pants. He hadn’t worn underwear under the tight pants. Dave looked at him. Klaus suddenly felt slightly self-conscious. Normally, he didn't care about being naked, but this was Dave. He wanted Dave to want him. 

Dave sucked in a breath. "You are so hot." He whispered. Klaus pulled him down into a kiss. Dave ran his hands down Klaus’s chest and wrapped a hand tentatively around Klaus’s aching dick. Klaus moaned, bucking his hips.

Dave lowered himself between Klaus’s legs. He looked a bit unsure. 

Klaus sat up slightly and ran a hand through Dave's curls. "It's fine. Don't use your teeth. You don't have to take all of me."

Dave smiled gratefully and put a hand on Klaus's chest, pushing him back down. He licked Klaus’s dick experimentally. Klaus moaned. This might kill him. 

Slowly, Dave lowered his mouth onto Klaus. He began to move. Klaus whimpered.  _ Fuck fuck fuck.  _ He thought. 

Klaus wanted to grab Dave's head, but that was too much. Too aggressive. He gripped the sheets. 

Dave stopped and looked up. "You okay?"

"Yes. Better than okay. That feels amazing." Klaus said. 

Dave grinned. He took Klaus’s dick in his mouth again and found a rhythm. Klaus was close. He moaned, gripping the sheets tighter. Dave reached up and took one of his hands. His warm hand gripping Klaus’s. That was it for Klaus. He came hard, screaming Dave's name. 

Dave pulled himself up, still holding Klaus’s hand. Klaus felt tears seep out of his eyes. 

"Hey, did I do it wrong? Are you okay?" Dave asked worriedly. 

Klaus shook his head. "It was amazing." He said, swallowing a lump in his throat. He tried to find the words to explain. He had been with a lot of people. Not always one at a time. Sometimes it was okay, sometimes it was great, but it had never been like this. He had never felt so . . . Loved. Klaus looked at Dave, saw the worry in his blue eyes. 

"Dave, it was better than amazing. I . . . ." He pulled their hands up and kissed Dave's hand. "I love you. I've never loved anyone like this." He whispered. He held his breath, terrified Dave would pull away. But Dave leaned over and kissed Klaus softly. He pressed his forehead against Klaus's. "I love you, too." Dave whispered. 

*******

_ This is stupid. He is the same guy I knew, but I am not his Klaus. They may not even have loved one another.  _

Dave walked down the street. He held a brown bag in his hands. Klaus had a sinking feeling.  _ Oh Dave. Tell me you didn't lose yourself the way I did.  _ But he knew in his heart that Dave hadn't recovered from losing him either.

He pressed his forehead against a brick wall. It was cool. Was he just going to hurt Dave if he showed up?  _ I wanted to save his life and I still ended up ruining it. _

"You just gonna sit there all day? Go to him, you idiot."

Klaus jumped. "Bones?"

"Yep. I don't know how you are back on the side of the living, but that man has spent his entire life wishing for this. So get your ass over there." The man said. He looked exactly like Klaus remembered. The vigilant soldier watching over his unit. 

"I am not the same person. Literally. It's really complicated. Time travel stuff. I'm not even sure I understand it. I will probably just make things worse."

"Bullshit. You are just scared. I recognize the stench of fear and I don't even have senses." Bones said. "I promised I would watch over those men. My unit . . . they all died. I watched them step on mines and hit trip wires and there was nothing I could do." Bones looked haunted. "Then I met you. You could see me. Hear me. And you listened to me. When you died, I swore I wouldn't move on until the last soldier from your unit was okay or gone. Dave? He has been lost a long time."

Klaus looked at Bones. Thought about all the times the ghost had saved them. Imagined what it would have been like for Bones without him to hear and help.

"Okay. I will go to him. I got him. All right? You can consider yourself relieved of duty. You have done a good job. Watching over them. Thank you."

Bones smiled. "Thank you." He said. Bones looked to the side. "Oh, there's a light."

"Go. Rest." Klaus said. 

Bones disappeared. Klaus’s heart ached. He looked back at the building with resolve. Running would be the easy way out. Klaus probably would have run had it been anyone else. But this was Dave. He loved Dave more than he loved anyone. Even himself. 

Klaus crossed the street. A woman was leaving the building with her arms full. He held the door for her as if he belonged and slipped in. 

The elevator was broken.  _ Wonder if that one leads to a safe house too.  _ He thought, amused. Klaus walked up 5 flights of stairs to Dave's apartment. He hoped he was doing the right thing.

He took a deep breath and let it out. Then he knocked on the door.

********

Luther chose a direction and started walking. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. Something that could help them. Or maybe just a fight. To take the edge off.

What he found was a gym. The gym was open air. He heard the sounds of grunts and flesh meeting flesh before he even rounded the corner. In the middle of the gym, two women were sparring. The shorter one had great technique. She didn't have the reach of her opponent, but she kept baiting her in too close and striking. Fast and ruthless. He watched them for awhile. His money was on the short one.

Luther immediately felt at home. The stale smell of sweat, the sounds of fists and feet meeting bags. Luther didn’t feel like he belonged in most places, but this place felt like home. 

"Jesus, kid, you look like you could go toe to toe with a Sparrow." An older man said, looking up at him.

"Oh, I don't know about that." said a voice behind him. Luther turned around to find a tall, thin man with dark skin. The man smiled menacingly, energy crackling at his fingertips. 

"Eleven." Luther sneered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sketched out the remaining chapters (the multiple storylines and time travel craziness were threatening to bury me over here). We are probably looking at 17 or so. I am pretty excited about where this is going.
> 
> I am a big fan of the theory that The Handler flirts to throw Five off his game as a power move. They won't be hooking up in this fic. 
> 
> I wanted to give Klaus and Dave some sexy time before I put them through mega angst. I particularly love the idea that Klaus craves the soft, lovey stuff. 
> 
> The title references the uneasy alliance between The Handler and Five, but it's also the name of a movie starring gay icon and stone cold hottie Rock Hudson. New head canon that Dave watched a lot of Rock Hudson movies growing up. His bigoted family was relieved he had such a "manly" hero, but he was actually just lusting after the man. 
> 
> Leave a comment!


	7. Collision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave and Klaus are reunited (sort of). Five and Diego continue trying to fix the timeline. Diego and Lila are reunited. Luther faces off with Eleven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry, fellow Klave shippers. This one hurts 
> 
> CW: addiction, references to character death, grief, drinking, brief Handler flirting, m/f smut, some violence
> 
> A note: this does feature Diego x Lila.

He was talking as he opened the door. "I don't want what you are . . . ." Dave stared at Klaus in disbelief. "Klaus?" He began to cry. "Klaus." He whispered.

Klaus felt his own eyes begin to tear up.  _ Dave.  _ His heart ached. Dave looked small. His eyes were red, his body hunched. But his blue eyes shone. The blue eyes that had always looked at him like he mattered. That had filled with reverence and love. Klaus swallowed. "No. I mean yes it's me but I am not the same Klaus you loved." His heart sank. "Sorry. This was a mistake." Klaus turned and began to walk away.  _ Idiot. What the hell is wrong with me. Breaking an old man's heart just so I could see him again. _

"Wait!" yelled Dave behind him. 'You are the first Klaus, right? From Dallas. Please come back."

Klaus stopped. He turned back around. He smiled wryly and held his hands up. "That's me."

"Come in. Please." Dave said, gesturing behind him.

Klaus walked in and Dave closed the door. Dave looked at him. Klaus’s heart skipped a beat. The kind eyes he had thought about over and over. "Dave." He whispered. Dave stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Klaus. Klaus wanted to cry. Dave felt so skinny. So fragile against his chest.

They stood there for a moment, holding each other. Eventually, Dave pulled back. Klaus missed the contact immediately. "Come on in." Dave said. They walked into a small studio apartment. There were empty frozen dinner trays piled on a table in front of a threadbare couch. Clothes were strewn about.

"I'm sorry." Dave apologized, hurriedly clearing the table.

Klaus laid a steadying hand on Dave's shoulder. "Dave, stop. You don't have to be embarrassed in front of me. Ever." 

Dave stopped and stared at him. "You said that to me . . . the other you . . . once." 

Klaus smiled remembering that night again. "I said it to you before in my timeline as well. Come on, I will get those for you." He cleared off the trays and found two clean glasses. He poured them both a drink and sat down on the couch next to Dave. 

"So, what is this?" Dave asked. "Alternative universes?"

Klaus stared at him a minute.  _ Of course. He reads science fiction.  _ "I am not actually entirely sure how to explain it. I was sent back in time by accident. The details aren't really important. I met you. We fell in love." Klaus closed his eyes and swallowed. "Then I lost you." He couldn't hold back tears. He felt Dave's hand on his. He opened his eyes and looked at the man he had longed for. Had mourned. 

"I know what that's like." Dave said. "It never stops hurting."

Klaus shook his head. "Anyway, when I got back, there was this thing. Family drama. Nearly caused an apocalypse. I am not sure if your Klaus told you this time around, but my family is a little strange. We all have powers."

Dave nodded. "You see the dead. You told me one night when you couldn't sleep."

"Right. Sounds similar to when I told you the first time around. My brother-he knows more about this than I do-said that the timeline seeks to reassert itself. So we may have a lot of common experiences. Anyway, while we were trying to stop the apocalypse, my brother sent us all back in time. I was a mess. After losing you. All I could think about was trying to save you. I guess I did." He smiled tentatively. Dave squeezed his hand. "But we screwed up the timeline really badly. When we got home, everything was different."

Dave nodded. "You don't seem too surprised about any of this." Klaus said.

Dave shrugged. "I have been trying to figure it out since . . . ." He trailed off and his hands went to his chest. Klaus saw the faint line of dog tags. His heart felt heavy. 

"I mean, you show up one day, but you somehow look younger and you don't seem to recognize me at all." He continued. He sighed. "I thought that meant you were safe. Because you must have survived to come and warn me. But you weren't."

Klaus grabbed his other hand. "What happened?"

"It was my fault. I told him what you told me. He was determined to protect me. He sacrificed himself to save me. For years I have wondered how you came to me afterwards."

"I'm sorry." Klaus said. He longed to pull Dave close. To kiss him and tell him it would all be okay. 

Dave gave Klaus a watery smile. "Thank you. I understand now. Why you showed up the way you did. So intense. You looked at me like . . . . I was scared. In Dallas. Couldn't admit who I was. I think about it a lot. But now? I would have given anything to save him." He looked around his apartment. "I bet you are disappointed. You tried so hard to save me and I ended up like this." He gestured around the apartment. 

Klaus shook his head. "No! Dave, no." He reached out and put his hand on Dave's face, feeling the wrinkles there and remembering the face he had touched years ago. "I wanted you to be happy. I wish you were happy. But losing you destroyed me too. I understand." 

Dave closed his eyes and leaned into Klaus’s hand. Klaus's heart broke all over. He wanted to scoop Dave up into his arms. To fix this. He swallowed. 

"So, what now?" Klaus asked. 

"Will you stay? For awhile?" Dave asked.

*****

They drank and traded stories. In some ways, it was like the old days. When people think about combat, they think about the stress of battle. But there is a lot of waiting in between. A lot of long nights and patrols and mundane and boring tasks. The rest of the unit thought Klaus was weird, so he generally got paired with Dave. Klaus remembered the long hours. Talking about nothing. Books and food and favorite colors. Sometimes, after leave, he would put his hand next to Dave's. Let them touch ever so slightly. Or he would hand on Dave's shoulder and let it linger, feeling his warmth. He wanted to drag Dave into the bushes. But instead they talked. They told stories. They laughed and shared secrets. And he found a closeness he had never had with anyone.

They fell back into that rhythm quickly. Klaus had forgotten how Dave had this habit of really looking at you when you talked. Really listening. Like what you were saying was the most important thing he had ever heard. It was a heady experience for Klaus. He was used to being ignored. Written off. Oh, plenty of people listened to him in the cult, but that wasn’t the same. Klaus couldn't help it. His heart soared. Just getting to be near Dave again.

They had been drinking and Klaus had a nice buzz going. They were enjoying pizza (courtesy of The Commission).

"Okay," he started. "I get that the timeline reasserts itself. But how did Four end up going by 'Klaus?' I mean, how did he know."

Dave looked sheepish. "That was actually my fault. See, this guy shows up looking exactly like you. I keep waiting for him to recognize me. But he looks at me like he has never seen me before."

"He hadn’t!" Klaus offered.

"Well I know that now, don't I? So, anyway. Shit. Sorry, hand me that napkin. So, I go up to him while we are on the bus being transported and I introduce myself. I don't know if I would have gotten up the nerve if we hadn't met. He was so cute." He confessed.

Klaus pointed at Dave. "You would have. You did. Before." 

Dave grinned. It was a beautiful sight. "So, I say 'I'm Dave.' And he responds: 'I'm Four.' And I just look at him. Because Four is not a name."

Klaus nodded along. "My asshole father didn't bother naming us."

"Fuck." Dave said. "I assumed it was a code name or something. That's messed up. Anyway, I decide to test him. See if he shows any sign of recognition. So I say: 'You remind me of someone I knew named Klaus.' He doesn't show the first sign of recognition. But, realizing that the name Four might bring unwanted attention, he says to me that I can call him Klaus. So I did. And so did everyone else."

Klaus threw back his head in laughter. "So I was named after myself?"

Dave joined in. "I guess you kinda were." 

Dave's eyes had regained some of their spark. Klaus felt his heart lurch. 

"That's the timeline for ya. I guess?" Klaus says. "Admittedly, I don't really understand it. My brother is the one trying to fix it."

A thought struck Klaus and he sobered. "Shit. If we fix the timeline, what happens to you? I can't let them erase you. Maybe I can take you with us." 

Dave looked at him sadly. "Klaus, I am afraid I don't have much time left. Regardless of the timeline status. If the cirrhosis doesn't get me, the cancer will. Soon." He said. 

Klaus felt like his chest might explode. "Dave." he whispered. 

Dave reached out and tucked Klaus’s hair behind his ear. "It's okay. Fix the timeline and find me again. We found each other twice before. We can do it again. Maybe this time we can even get some happiness. We can build a life."

Klaus nodded but didn't trust himself to speak. 

They watched a movie, Dave's warm hand in Klaus’s. Dave laid his head on Klaus's shoulder. Klaus reveled in the contact. They hadn't been able to do this for most of their relationship. 

He heard gentle snoring. He turned and kissed Dave's forehead. Dave stirred and Klaus half carried him to bed. He hadn’t expected Dave to weigh so little. As he laid him down, Klaus held back tears.  _ My poor Dave.  _ Klaus covered him in a blanket and started to head back to the couch to lay down. 

"Stay. Please." Dave whispered. 

Klaus crawled into the bed next to Dave and pulled him close, tears streaming silently down his face.

*********

"You know, if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask. We should talk about safe words." purred The Handler. She was lying on the floor, hands and feet bound.

"What the fuck, Lady? Are you hitting on my brother?" Diego said.

Five rolled his eyes. "Don't give her the satisfaction, Diego." He turned to The Handler. "Look, as much as it pains me to say these words out loud, I need your help."

The Handler smiled. It made her look predatory. "Oh? I thought you'd never ask. But with your brother here?"

He knew she was pushing his buttons. He ignored it. "If I send you back to where I grabbed you, you are going to die. And, frankly, I am good with that."

The Handler's smile vanished. "Okay. How? And why are you telling me this? What do you want?"

"Apparently, you have made an enemy of The Swedes." Recognition hit The Handler's face. "As we speak, a girl named Lilly has taken your place. She can change her body to look like anyone. She is going to fake your death."

The Handler looked intrigued by this. "She can shape-shift? Do you know how valuable that would be in Commission work? I want to meet her."

"You will." Five replied. "She's your daughter."

"What are you taking about Five? Did you hit your head? Are you talking about Lila?" She pushed herself up into a seated position. She was intrigued.  _ Got her. _ Five thought.

"The timeline has been rewritten. The result is . . . not good. Our only hope is that you get us this child. She is the only one who can help restore it."

The Handler's eyes narrowed. "Why?" 

Five honestly didn't know yet. But he was damned if he was telling The Handler that. "You don't need to know the entire plan. All you need is to know is that Reginald Hargreeves is going to adopt more kids this time around. And you are going to help him in exchange for him allowing you to take one of them." Five said.

"And why would I do that?" The Handler asked.

"Because, otherwise, I will send you back and you will end up dead on a barn floor."

Five replied.

"Wait, I name this kid Lilly? So I have a Lila and a Lilly? Why would I do that?"

"I don't know. You tell me. She's your kid." Five said.

"I don't know. I guess I have to name her that now. You just told me that's her name. So I guess that's it. Otherwise, it could cause more problems in the timeline. At least it will be easy to remember. That's probably why." She shrugged.

The Handler was quiet for a moment. Five wanted to point out that Lilly would be extremely useful to her, but he knew The Handler would get suspicious. She had to believe things were her idea. So he waited her out, feeling more than a little guilty for setting her on a collision course with the girl. 

"Fine." The Handler said. "Tell me what I have to do."

*******

Five and Diego landed in a heap in the middle of a small office in the heart of The Commission.

Diego groaned. "Five, you need more practice." He had landed on his back. Hard. Knives dug into his back. He sat up. 

"Sorry." Five said as he rolled over quickly. "I swear they have moved this floor."

"Bout time you showed up." said a voice behind him. Diego grinned.  _ Lila.  _ She was seated in a chair, wearing a dark pantsuit. Her hair was slicked back and her lips were red. She looked hot. 

"How did you know we'd be here?" Diego asked her.

She shrugged. "My sister told me." 

"You have a sister?" Diego asked, confused. She had never mentioned a sister.

"Lilly" Lila said. "You've met her." 

"Right." Diego said. He guessed that made sense. They had the same Mom. 

Lila smiled. "It's actually been pretty nice. To have someone who shared a similar upbringing."

Something was bothering Diego. "Wait, how did she know we would be here?"

"Mom told her." Lila said.

"What? We just saw her, but she didn't know we were coming here. How did she tell Lilly?" Diego asked.

"Not her. A later version. The one you dropped off to get her back here." Diego blinked. He nodded as if he understood what she was talking about. He absolutely did not understand, but he got the sneaking suspicion that further discussion on the topic would just give him a headache.

"When are we?" Five asked. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Hello, Five." He nodded. "You are after the showdown in The Commission timeline. Things are in chaos. You killed basically every field agent we had and the clean-up alone . . . . The timeline is in shreds but nobody can travel forward to deal with it. Something about the future Commission being non-responsive." 

"Yeah," Five said. "The Sparrows, the group of kids Reginald acquired in the altered timeline, killed everyone in The Commission. Apparently, Reginald is worried about The Commission undoing all his work." Five sneered as he said the last part. "I need access to the Switchboard."

Lila nodded. "Lilly is already waiting for you." She looked at Diego. "Can we talk? Privately?"

He nodded. "I'll catch up with you, Five." He said. Five was already halfway out the door. He waved a hand half-heartedly and shut the door. 

"Hi." Lila said. She smiled up at Diego. "Been awhile."

Diego's brow crinkled in confusion. 

"For me." She clarified. "I have been here a few weeks. Plus a few months time traveling. Trying to help get everything sorted. Gained a sister. Had some time to think."

Diego fought the urge to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her. He wanted to be with her, but he had no idea how she felt. He had offered to be her family. And she had never responded. Ok, so there had been some interruptions. Still, he stared at her, heart in his throat, hoping she felt the same way. He didn't trust his voice. He simply nodded for her to go on. 

She sighed. "Diego, what you said. Did you mean it? Do you still care about me? Even though I tried to kill you and your family? Or were you just trying to talk me down?"

Diego took a breath. "Lila, I meant it. Of course I meant it. Look, everything is so complicated. I mean, the woman who raised you ordered my brother to kill your parents and now my brother has convinced her to go adopt your sister so that she can help us undo a world in which you are being raised by my Dad." He looked up trying to think it through. Yeah, he was pretty sure that was right. 

Lila let out a huge laugh. One of those big, open mouthed belly laughs. "It's pretty fucked up, when you think about it."

Diego laughed too. "I try not to."

"I don't think I want you to be my family." She said quietly. "Somehow, I ended up with a family after all. Lilly . . . she gets it. You know?"

Diego felt a pain in his chest.  _ She doesn't want me. _ He thought sadly. But he had to respect that. 

"I think," she continued, "I would rather you be my boyfriend." She looked up at him hopefully. 

He grinned. His heart soared. "Really?"

"Really." She said. Then she jumped up and wrapped her arms and legs around him. He caught her and kissed her hard. She groaned and wiggled against him. He felt himself hardening against her. 

"Does that door lock?" He asked.

She grinned mischievously. She looked slightly dangerous. It was the hottest thing he had ever seen.

She slid down to the floor, running her hands down his chest as she went. He moaned. 

She locked the door with a "click," then turned around smiling. She unbuttoned her jacket and laid it across the chair. She walked towards him unbuttoning her shirt. A lacy black bra peeked through. Diego tore off his harness and his shirt. He closed the distance between them and tilted Lila's head upwards. He kissed her desperately. He let his hands wander downwards. He peeled her shirt off and ran his hands down her back. Then up her stomach. Slowly. Feeling the goosebumps form on her skin. He forced himself to take his time. She shivered under his hands.

_ Shit. I don't have a condom.  _ He pulled away. "I didn't exactly expect this. I don't have any protection."

Lila grinned. "I may have made some arrangements. Just in case."

She walked around behind the desk and opened a drawer. Inside were condoms. He raised his eyebrows. 

"Hey, better to be prepared."

He walked over and picked her up, placing her on the desk. She wrapped her legs around him as he kissed her. First on the lips and then down her neck. He unhooked her bra and looked at her breasts. They were perfect. He moaned and took one nipple in his mouth then the other. 

"Fuuuuuuuck." Lila said. She squeezed him with his legs. He struggled to maintain control. 

She pushed him back and ran her fingernails down his chest. He wasn't sure how much more he could take. "I want you so badly" he said through clinched teeth. 

She stood up and pushed him down on the desk, tearing at his pants. He lifted his hips and she pulled them off. She stared at his cock hungrily. She reached out and grabbed him. He couldn’t help but pump his hips in response. She pulled out a condom and slowly rolled it down over him. Then she tore her pants off and climbed up on top of him.

She teased him, kissing him and hovering just above. He longed to sink into her. To feel her. "Please." He said. She grinned and lowered herself onto him. 

He moaned out her name.  _ Fuck, she is wet.  _ He grabbed her hips and pushed himself deeper.

"Yes." She moaned. She put her hands on his shoulders and began to move to a frantic rhythm. Diego brought her face down and kissed her, matching each stroke in time. He ran his hands down the length of her body and touched her between her legs. 

She panted in his ear. "Don't stop. Please." She said.

She began to moan, and her movements became more urgent. He was close. She screamed and he felt her clench around him. He followed after her, letting go. The orgasm tore through his body. 

She collapsed on top of him. He kissed her forehead softly. 

"I think I would rather be your boyfriend too." He teased. She chuckled softly. 

*******

"Eleven." Luther sneered."I think you will find me a worthier opponent than a scared child running away from her abusive family."

Eleven's eyes widened, the spark going out from his hands. "How did you know about that?"

Luther didn’t respond. Instead he rushed forward, taking advantage of Eleven's confusion. He picked him up and threw him up against the nearest wall as hard as he could. He pinned him up against the wall, arm against his throat. Eleven's eyes widened.

"That's right, I know exactly who you are. A monster." 

Eleven put his arm on Luther's shoulder and he felt a sudden, painful jolt. He jumped back involuntarily. 

Eleven grabbed his throat. "How?" he rasped. 

"Three told us. Well her ghost did." Luther replied. 

Eleven stared at him in shock. 

Luther put up his hands. "Come on." He said. "Fight me fair and square."

Eleven shook his head. "No, I don't think I will."

_ Fuck.  _ Luther thought as a jolt of electricity shot out at him. Then he didn't think anything at all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hurt. I promise I give Dave and Klaus a happy ending.


	8. Sand and Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five digs into the time anomalies. Luther faces off with Eleven. Klaus and Dave have breakfast. Vanya and Allison enjoy movie night. 
> 
> This one has some pretty big angst. Please don't hate me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: major illness, EMS, the Sparrow's childhood, major angst (it gets worse before it gets better please don't hate me)

Five walked into the Switchboard room. Several people were murmuring and plugging and unplugging wires. A man in his 40s stood in the middle of the room. He had dark hair, graying at the temples. His suit was well tailored and his face was handsome. Each time he made a command, everyone in the room jumped to comply. 

He looked at Five with piercing blue eyes. “Five. Glad you are finally here. Come with me.” He looked at a small, frazzled man. “Keep working at it. I want an update when I get back.” The man nodded.

Five followed the man. What else was he going to do? The man took him to a small office. “Sit.” he said. “I assume everything went smoothly given that no new alarm bells started blaring. You know, you and your siblings really screwed up the timeline.”

Five didn’t know what to say. “I am sorry, but who are you?” he asked.

The man’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, of course. Sorry. Give me a second.” The man began to glow. He changed into a thin teenage girl with dark hair halfway down her back. “You met me in this form, didn’t you?”

The pieces fell into place. “Lilly. I . . . yeah, I guess I expected you to look the same. Is this not your normal body?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really  _ have _ a normal body. Not anymore. I started shifting so young, I don’t even know what my body would have looked like if it had aged normally. Most of the time, I am pretending to be someone else, so it doesn’t really matter. Otherwise, I have a few different default forms I like to take. This is probably the closest to what I would have looked like, but younger. I also have a completely average looking woman and the male form I just took. I go by Liam when I am him.”

“So you don’t prefer any of those?” He blurted. He realized it was probably rude of him to ask all of these detailed questions. “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”

“Actually,” she said, “it’s kind of refreshing. Most people don’t know about me, so I don’t really get a chance to talk about it. I mean, this form is useful. People don’t see teenage girls. More accurately, they actively ignore them. They don’t take them seriously. Particularly if I have a cell phone in modern times. Meanwhile, Liam is great if I am trying to lead a team of people pulled from all over history. I know, I know. Our people are supposed to be trained not to have bias, but you and I both know that some of that shit is super ingrained. It’s just easier.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I get it. I struggle to be taken seriously in this body.”

She tilted her head. “In this body?”

He nodded. “Right, you wouldn’t have any reason to know that. I am around 58 years old. Long story short, I lived in an apocalyptic hellscape then got recruited here. I finally figured out how to get back home, but I ended up in my old body. Everyone treats me like a kid. Even when they know better. Well, except your Mom. The Handler flirts with me to creep everyone out. Including me.”

“Ahhh.” She said. “That fills in some blanks.”

“So how old are you, then?”

She shrugged again. “Honestly, I am not even sure. The Handler raised me in several different time periods. If I had to guess, something like 54? 55? Who knows. It isn’t like my body ages normally. Anyway, I don’t really identify as any particular form. I just take the most convenient one.”

Five nodded. “So, do you prefer to be called Lilly? Liam?”

She smiled. “Just match my name and pronouns to whatever form I am taking. Otherwise, I might forget. But thank you. Maybe someday I will settle down at some specific time and in some specific body. Until then, I just go with it.”

Five leaned forward in his chair. “So, where are we? What’s the plan?”

Her smile faded. “I was hoping you could help me figure that one out.”

“What do you mean?” asked Five. He had a sinking feeling in his gut.

“Well, we can’t move forward. The Commission goes down at some point in the future.”

Five nodded. “The Sparrow Academy killed them all.”

Lilly’s face went pale. “All of them?” She asked.  _ Shit. She probably knows some of them. _

“I’m sorry.” Five said. “We will stop them. Undo this.”

Lilly swallowed and steeled herself. “We can’t seem to figure out what caused the massive time shift. Kennedy got killed. We fixed all of the major historical events. But no matter how much we tweak things, we can’t seem to figure it out. Do you have any idea what happened?”

Five had a really bad suspicion he did. “Well, Allison got involved with the Civil Rights Movement.” Lilly shook her head. “That all ended up pretty much where we expected. A bit better, actually. Your sister really motivated people, you know.” Five felt a rush of pride.

“Hmm, well Klaus started a huge cult. That probably had a big impact on things.” 

Lilly shook her head. “Actually, no. The people who joined were largely people who were set to run off during the subsequent social movements. They were already going to end up doing drugs and having sex in communes. They just got a head start. Eventually, they got a new leader. Some man called ‘The Swede.’ They became more of a prepper cult. Locked themselves in huge bunkers out in the middle of nowhere.” She gestured with her hand. “Not much impact in the middle of the woods.”

Five tried again. “Luther worked for a mobster?” She shook her head. “Doesn’t seem to be anything to that one at all. He kept to himself. Actually did a pretty good job keeping a low profile. We could use more like him.”

“What about Vanya? She nearly caused another apocalypse and killed a ton of agents. Sorry about that, by the way.”

She waved her hand. “It wasn’t that. We cleaned up that mess. I mean, yeah, it was sad and The Commission fired just about everyone left because of all the claims it had to pay out. But, no, The Commission agents are out of time. You know that. Killing them is, by design, not a time event.”

“Okay,” he said desperately, “well Diego and I interfered with the Kennedy assassination. We didn’t mean to. Well, I didn’t mean to. Anyway, Kennedy got shot but we all got blamed. Completely changed everything.”

Lilly sighed. “The Kennedy assassination has been a problem since day one. You know that. We have assassinated him so many ways at this point, there is bleedthrough. Even in the same timeline, people can’t remember how he died. I think you even killed him once. Didn’t you? It’s not Kennedy. Or the mob. Or a dangerous cult. Or civil disobedience. We have run every scenario. Something is stopping the timeline from reasserting itself. Something is keeping us from fixing it. Something big. And I can’t . . . .” Her eyes narrowed. “Five, what did you do?”

He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. “It’s my fucking dad. Reginald Hargreeves is the anomaly.”

********

Luther groaned softly. His head ached. Was he on the floor?  _ Shit. Did I go out with Klaus again?  _ Images slowly came back to him. A gym? A man.  _ Eleven. _

A voice spoke behind him. “It’s about time you woke up. Though, I did have to give you enough current to take an elephant down.” 

Luther rolled over and squinted into the light. They were in a warehouse of some sort. He was lying on the concrete floor of a big empty room, arms and legs tied. Eleven sat in a folding chair, sparks flying between his fingers.

His brain worked to catch up. They looked to be alone.  _ So, he doesn’t want me dead. Yet. And he doesn’t want to tell his siblings. Interesting. _ Luther thought. 

“Where are we?” he asked. 

Eleven smirked. “They won’t find you.” he said.

Luther tested his bonds. He was pretty sure he could break them. He just had to wait for the right moment. “They know better than to come after me.” he bluffed.

Eleven raised his eyebrows. “Dad said you were dysfunctional, but leaving one of your own with the enemy? That’s cold.”

Luther laughed. “That’s cold? THAT’s cold? It’s pretty clear you wouldn’t lift a finger unless your Dad told you to. And then you would murder your own sister. Wait, didn't you get me killed too? The other me? Sneaking around and then just standing by while he was murdered."

Eleven flinched.  _ So there is something there.  _ Three had hoped that the boy she had known was somewhere in there. 

"Listen. He lied to you. It's what he does. He lies and manipulates and destroys. I know he does. He lied to me too. I was the last holdout. I believed in him. And then I discovered that he had sent me away on a fake mission just to get me out if the way. He doesn't love you. Isn't capable of it. And we aren't interlopers or threats.  _ We're his kids. _ At least we were until he realized he couldn't control us anymore." 

Luther felt the anger build. "We were his experiments. He monitored us and manipulated us. He did this to me and sent me away. And the worst part was that I still believed him. I used to try and blame my siblings for the bad things that happened to them. If they would just follow the rules . . . ." He couldn't keep the bitterness put of his voice. "The whole time, I was the sucker. And then we went back in time and met him and he realized he had lost control of us, so he tried again. You were just the second experiment. If you had failed, he would have thrown you out and tried again. Maybe he did. How would we know?"

Eleven didn’t say anything. He just stared. Eyes wide.

Luther's anger drained, replaced with exhaustion. And another piece clicked into place. "But you knew that, didn't you? That's why we are alone. Your siblings aren't here for a reason. Some part of you figured out that you aren't the good guys. Good guys don't kill their siblings. And I suspect our timelines aren't so different that demanding absolute obedience is the sign of good man in this one." 

In a quiet voice, Eleven asked, "You really saw Three?"

Luther suppressed a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Our Four is still alive. He helped her manifest. Your Four saw her too. Before Five sent him back in time."

Eleven closed his eyes and nodded. "I thought that might be the case." He looked at Luther, regret and heartache all over his face. "If I untie you, will you be cool?"

Luther grinned and popped the ties off. "If I was going to try and hurt you, it would have already happened."

"Jesus, how strong are you?" Eleven said. 

Luther grinned. "Apparently strong enough to go toe to toe with a Sparrow?"

Eleven laughed. "Well, I still won."

*********

Vanya was bored. The last few years had been filled with the routine of caring for Harlan. There was always something to be done. She closed her eyes. She missed them. 

Some nights, when Carl was traveling, Vanya could pretend that it was just them. She and Sissy would throw something easy together for dinner. No reason to make big production. They would get Harlan to bed and they would sit outside and look at the stars. Sometimes she would lay a hand on Sissy's shoulder and leave it there. Or they would lock arms. They would make up ridiculous backstories for Vanya. Or dream about travel to far away places.

Vanya had searched the safe house for something to do. She longed for a violin. She wanted to lose herself in a complicated piece. To be so focused on the notes, that she couldn't think about anything else. 

She found the computer in the middle of the night. Allison was sleeping. She had been sleeping a lot. Vanya couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Sissy. Remembered her soft lips and warm tongue. Tentative at first, then desperate. Like she was starving.

But even worse, she had finally managed it earlier. Her body had finally given in to her exhaustion. But she had dreamt of them. Sissy and Harlan. It had been a perfect spring day and they had been out on a picnic. It wasn’t a nightmare. It was worse. It was a good dream. A happy dream. And when she woke, she lost them all over again. 

She wandered the safe house looking for something to distract her. She ended up in the bedroom Luther had been using. Each of the bedrooms had supplies. Clothes in one. Weapons in another. She didn't think anyone had looked through this room. She opened the closet and found tech. A ton of it. Bugs, walkie talkies, ear buds, laptops, phones. She didn't recognize the models, but there was no mistaking it.

She wondered if they had wi fi in this future. Bored, she opened one of the laptops. There was no sign-on. She thought it was weird, but then she remembered that the safe house was for agents. It probably wasn't possible to update security through space and time. 

She clicked on a few icons until she found the browser. She knew she shouldn't, but she searched "Sissy Cooper." It was silly.  _ What, am I going to find her on social media? She probably died before it got big. If not, she would be . . . . _

She stared at the screen. An old episode of some documentary show had popped up. She clicked. A woman stepped out of the fog in a trench coat. 

"An all-American family in the heartland. A hard-working salesman. His doting wife and young son." She turned and the camera zoomed in dramatically. "Until one day, they disappeared without a trace."

The camera cut to a blonde woman with a sour look.  _ It's that horrible woman from the grocery store. Mrs. Smythe.  _ "Something terrible must have happened to her. She was such a devoted mother. So quiet."  _ You hated her and told her to control Harlan.  _ Vanya fumed.

The camera cut to Sissy's brother-in-law. "It was the Russians. Or a government cover-up. No question."

The camera cut again, this time to a man she didn't recognize. "It was aliens. No doubt. You should have seen the lights."

The camera cut back to the woman: "This is Open Cases." Theme music began to play. Vanya settled in to watch.

She watched the entire thing. The reenactments were unintentionally hilarious. The mysterious nanny had an exaggerated Russian accent and kept shifting her eyes back and forth. The woman who played Sissy was overly made up and her hair was teased within an inch if its life. Vanya felt a giddiness grow within her. Sissy had gotten away. The show had aired decades later and nobody had found her!

She let go of stress she hadn't realized she had been carrying. Sissy had found a safe place. With a sigh of relief, she laid back down and slept a dreamless sleep.

*******

Klaus woke still holding Dave. He closed his eyes and kissed his head. He listened to Dave breathe in and out. Taking comfort in hearing him, being near him. But aching to see him so frail.  _ He would hate that description _ .

He decided to go get some breakfast and booze. He knew Dave would wake up needing something. He knew the ache himself. Maybe if they had more time they could have tried to work on sobriety together. No point now. Better to dull his pain.

He knew he should let Dave go. It was a risk. Being seen in the city. But he also knew that the walk would be hard on Dave. He had seen the pain when Dave moved around. He couldn’t do that to him. 

He found a pencil and an old envelope.  _ Gone to pick up rations.  _ He wrote. He stared at it a moment, then drew a heart. He put the note prominently on the table. 

He looked back at Dave, then took another pass around the apartment. He found an old magazine with The Rock featured prominently on the front. He smirked.  _ Perfect.  _

Back in Vietnam he and Dave had an ongoing "prank." They would sometimes leave random stuff next to the other while sleeping. The guys thought they were just messing around, but they had agreed on a secret code. They would pass a rock back and forth that meant, "I love you." A twig meant, "meet me later." And so on. Whenever Dave left him the rock, he would feel a secret thrill. It was stupid. Of course it was stupid. And yet, he always put it in his pocket for a day or two. He would put his hand in his pocket and feel it when he wanted a reminder that Dave loved him. 

Now he left The Rock next to Dave. He hoped Dave had the same code with the other Klaus. Otherwise, he was going to be so confused. Oh well, he would explain it when he got back.

Klaus grabbed his hat and left the apartment.

*********

It had taken Klaus longer than he expected. He didn’t know the neighborhood. But he found the necessary provisions and returned. He was in a good mood. Sure, things were bleak. A team of superheroes was out to get him and the love of his life was dying, but if there was one thing life had taught him, it was that happiness was always fleeting. You had to take what you could get when you could get it. And today he woke up next to the man he loved. The man he had lost was back. 

He opened the door to find Dave grinning on the couch. 

"The Rock?" He asked.

Klaus grinned. "Is there a better way to say I love you?"

"You can just say it now, you know." He laughed.

Klaus put the bag down on the table and kneeled next to Dave taking his hands. Looking into his eyes. "I love you. The other me clearly did too. And I think, no matter how many apocalypses come and go, no matter who you and I are, the person that is me will always love the person that is you."

Dave sucked in a breath. "Me too." He whispered.

"Now, let's eat." Klaus said.

****** 

It was late afternoon when it happened. Dave stood up, and then he doubled over in pain. 

"I'll call an ambulance." Klaus yelled, looking for Dave's phone.

"You have to go." Dave spit out. "The paramedics will take a statement. The Sparrows will find you." He spit out.

"I'm not leaving you." Klaus said, finding the phone.

"Klaus, please." Dave said. "Dial the number and leave. You can find me at the hospital. Just don't be here when the authorities show up."

Tears streaming down his face, Klaus dialed 9-1-1 and pressed the phone into Dave's hand. 

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." Dave replied. 

******

Finding the hospital was harder than Klaus thought. He didn't know the city and he didn't dare ask anyone respectable. He needed someone like him. Finally, he asked a man sprawled out on a park bench. The man took a cigarette in payment. He barely even glanced at Klaus. 

Klaus stared at the hospital. Part of him wanted to run. He knew that this ended one way. He was going to lose Dave again. But then he thought of Dave in there all alone. He thought about the other him. He would kick his own ass for even considering walking away. 

******

"I'm sorry, sir. He has a standing order. No visitors." The woman repeated.

"Please," Klaus said, "just tell him it's me."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. We can’t disturb our patients."

"Can you at least tell me how he is?" He begged.

She looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry. Really. I can't help you."

He was tempted to run past her. To scream down the halls looking for Dave. But he knew that wouldn’t help anyone. 

_ Allison  _ he thought, and he ran out the door.

********

The addition of the internet had drastically increased the entertainment options for Vanya and Allison. They had spent the day watching alternative versions of Allison's movies. 

"All I am saying," Allison said, "is that my accent was better."

Vanya laughed. "And all I am saying is that I am enjoying her performance."

Allison hit her lightly on the shoulder. "You are  _ enjoying  _ her bikini."

"Guilty." Vanya admitted. 

There was a loud banging. Allison looked at Vanya. 

"Do you think we should open it?" Vanya asked.

"ALLISON" came a muffled cry through the door. 

Allison's eyes widened. "Klaus!"

The women jumped up. Allison opened the door and Klaus stumbled in.

"You have to come with me. Allison, come with me. You have to come with me please." He said desperately. 

Allison put her hands on his shoulders. "Okay. Klaus. Slow down.. What's going on? Talk to me."

Klaus looked desperately between his sisters and then he just started crying. Vanya wrapped her arms around his waist. Allison wrapped her arms around his neck. They stayed there for a minute. Until Klaus calmed.

"I found him. I found him but he is dying." He wiped the tears from his eyes and took a breath. "He collapsed and they took him to the hospital. They won’t let me in. See, his family is . . . not supportive."

He collapsed against the wall behind him. "He joined the military to try and get their approval. It wasn’t enough."

Vanya felt anger build in her on behalf of her brother. On behalf of the man he loved. But there was no target. She tamped it down. 

"He put an order in his medical record to deny all visitors. He didn't want them to interfere with his treatment. The problem is that he didn't know there might be an exception."

Allison nodded. "We'd better hurry then."

Her brother's face cycled through several emotions. Gratitude. Relief. Sadness. Love.

Vanya felt helpless. "I'll stay here. Open the door when you need back in." She said, feeling useless. 

She watched Allison and Klaus hurry out the door. 

"Well, fuck." Vanya said. She paced around the the safe house.  _ Shit. I should have given them phones. _

Vanya sat back down, but she couldn't get the same joy from watching Allison's movies alone. She decided to do some research.  _ May as well learn about The Sparrow Academy.  _

She scrolled through pages about the Sparrows. Articles about crimes they had thwarted. Gossip. Fan blogs and sightings. Vanya had a flashback to a childhood in her siblings' shadow. But the usual sting didn't come. She felt a flash of guilt instead but pushed it aside. 

She gasped. A clip of an old article was displayed prominently on a fan site. The headline proclaimed: Sparrows Thwart Supervillain: Telekinesis in Custody. Eight smiled at the camera, her red hair in pigtails. But it wasn’t her that drew Vanya's attention. Behind her, in handcuffs, was a familiar man. 

She frantically searched "Telekinesis." A better picture appeared. Her heart stopped. He was a dead ringer for Carl. There was no doubt she was looking at Harlan.  _ Oh Harlan.  _ She thought. 

Some additional searching confirmed that he was still in custody. The prison wasn't far away. _I'm coming, baby._ She thought. She grabbed a credit card and a phone. She jotted down the number on a piece of paper in the kitchen with a note. She looked around in the drawers and found some duct tape. She duct taped the latch and left through the emergency door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea of a shapeshifter who doesn't really identify with a body, and therefore whose idea of gender is highly fluid. I hope it doesn't get too confusing for the reader. Let me know in the comments if it does.
> 
> I also got pretty excited about the concept of Luther understanding the Sparrows because he believed in Reginald for so long. Plus I liked exploring some of his feelings about everything.
> 
> I know the Unsolved Mysteries style documentary was a bit silly, but I loved exploring how things could be slightly different yet familiar. 
> 
> What can I say about Klaus and Dave? I love them and yet I am hurting them so much (it gets worse). I have really good stuff planned for them. And I did want to give them some sweetness before I broke my own heart.
> 
> The next chapter is written. I actually got so excited about the new season that I wrote like 19 pages of content. But I am reworking the next piece so I broke it up because I may need to make some adjustments to the next chapter as I rewrite the outline.
> 
> Leave a comment! And let me know if you are interested in reading and providing opinions in advance.


	9. Fire and Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five continues his quest to fix the timeline. Vanya visits Harlan. Klaus sits with Dave in the hospital. This one is tough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: major character death (I swear good things are coming), references to drug use, references to domestic abuse, Reginald is a terrible person

Five leaned over a monitor. "Ok, same changes but try having Allison erase his memory instead."

Now that they knew the problem, they were getting closer to a solution. Five had been tweaking the scenarios for an hour now. It was clear Reginald was the key. Each tweak got them frustratingly close, but something always went wrong. With them. He couldn’t find a scenario where he and his siblings didn't cause an apocalypse. 

"Apocalypse. 2004." Said the man running the switchboard.

Five threw his hands up in the air. "That's worse." He stood up and paced.

"Mom.' Diego said from the corner. He and Lila had sidled in about 30 minutes ago. Apparently, they were back together from the looks they were exchanging. 

Five looked at Diego. "What? Diego, we all loved Mom and we all miss her, but that isn't the point here."

"No, Grace. What happened to Grace? Dad modeled Mom after Grace and Mom influenced all of us. Without Mom . . . well, without Mom maybe we destroy the world?"

Five walked back over to the man. "Ok, superimpose the timelines for Grace . . . Shit, I don’t know her last name. She worked closely with Reginald Hargreeves. Can we find her that way?"

The man got to work. Five turned back to Diego. He kept looking at Lila and grinning an idiot. Five rolled his eyes.

Liam walked in. He handed a cup of coffee to Five and took a sip from another in his hands. "How are we doing?" He asked. 

"Sir, you should see this." The switchboard operator called out. 

Liam and Five walked over to the monitor. "Yeah," Five said, "that'll do it."

They did some more calculations, but it was easier once they knew the variables. 

"So, we're in agreement then." Five said later. "All we have to do is get Allison to rumor Dad, and to get Grace to stay until they fight about her independence and he kills her. She can't walk out on him earlier. He has to model Mom on her as revenge for her insolence."

"Nice guy." Lila said bitterly.

"Nobody is going to argue there, Lila." Five replied.

"Five," Diego argued, "you can't send Mom to her death. She is a really nice lady."

"She's not Mom, Diego. She just looks like her. She is nothing like Mom. In fact, it would appear she is the polar opposite by design because our dear old Dad couldn't stand the fact that she was smart and independent."

Diego sighed. "Still, she survives unless we meddle." 

Liam cut them off. "Come with me."

They followed him down the hall to his office. 

"Sit." He commanded as he locked the door. They sat. 

"Diego is right, but not for the reason he thinks. The timeline is fragile right now. It has always been fragile around the assassination, but now it is even more so. One wrong move, one small variable, and it all comes crashing down. We can't afford to send your sister in over and over to make adjustments until we get it right."

"So what do we do?" Five asked. 

Liam stood up tall. "We send in an operative who can influence things directly. Who can hide in plain sight and nudge events along appropriately."

"You." said Five, understanding dawning on his face.

Liam flashed and morphed into a pretty blonde woman. "Me." she said proudly looking back and forth for approval.

"No." said Five vehemently. "You saw what happens to her. We can't send you in there for that."

Grace sighed and paced in front of them. "Five, I know I looked like a teenage girl when we met, but I am an adult. I know what I am getting into. This is what I do. What I have done my entire life. I infiltrate. It isn’t always pretty."

Five tried to ignore the guilt he felt. He had set her up for this life. If this was normal to her, it was because he had sent The Handler for Lilly. He realized with a sick feeling that this must be why they needed her. He laughed at himself internally. Perfectly happy to assassinate people. A killer like his Dad, he supposed. How's that for nurture? But he struggled with the idea of forcing someone to suffer.  _ Someone who doesn't deserve it. I would happily make Dad suffer. _ He amended in his head.

He couldn't exactly admit his guilt, so he appealed to more practical matters. "How are you going to convince people you are her? You can't exactly do recon with the timeline in shambles."

She stopped and leaned against her desk. "You're right. Diego knew her, right? Can you tell me about her?"

"Sure." He said enthusiastically. "But I only met her briefly." He said less enthusiastically.

She deflated. "Well, shit." she said. "Improv. It's much harder."

A thought occurred to Five.  _ Don't say it. Don't say it.  _ "Maybe we could ask her." He said. "She died in the '80s in the altered timeline, right? Maybe Klaus can summon her. We have to go back to get them anyway. Plus we need to deal with the Sparrows. Dad isn't going to sit by while we interfere with the timeline."

Grace clapped. "Great, so next step is to go find your siblings."

"I can take us there. They should all be in one of the Commission safe houses. Lila, why don't you and Diego go get some supplies." He expected them to point out that there were supplies in the safe house and had an answer ready, but they left without a peep. They were a little too enthusiastic. He probably had some time, then.

Five turned on Grace. "Look, I need to understand something. Why are you doing this?"

"It's my job, Five. It's what I do. Maybe this is my fault for choosing the teenage girl body when I met you, but I am not a wilting flower. The job is messy and hard and often unpleasant. You know that."

Five narrowed his eyes. She wasn't telling him everything. "Yes, but why do you do the job? Why put yourself through it?"

She looked surprised. Maybe nobody ever asked her that. Or maybe she wasn't used to people seeing through her lies.

"Fine. But this stays between us." He nodded. "In the other timeline, I think I am happy."

Five felt a slight pang of guilt. He had taken that away from her.

She continued. "I tell everyone I can't trace myself. The other me? He looks nothing like my default disguises. That's a lie I tell people."

Five nodded. That made a lot of sense. 

"Anyway, the other me is happy. Married with kids. An accountant, if you can believe it."

"I took that away from you, didn't I?" Five asked. 

She raised her eyebrows. "For a sociopathic assassin, you have a surprisingly strong conscience."

Five grinned sardonically. "Hey, we all have faults. I am working on it."

Grace smiled. "But no, this isn't on you. Well, not directly. I was curious so I checked when we ran the scenarios. Reginald always finds me. Your original timeline is the outlier. The exception to the rule. Somehow, the convergence of events in that timeline works out to give me a normal, happy life."

Five was quiet for a moment. He tried to imagine what a normal life looked like. Seemed boring to him, but less stressful. He let himself fantasize about worrying that he might fail the physics final rather than fail to stop yet another apocalypse. 

"You know, you won't get to be him. Out of time like you are. You will continue in the new timeline as yourself if you help us."

She gave him a cutting look. "Sorry. Of course you know that. It's what you do."

She smiled wryly. "I know. I don't even want that life. But I like the idea of a version of me getting it. Besides, he has a really cute dog. Can't let anything happen to Brutus."

Five laughed. 

They made small talk until Lila and Diego returned.

"Everyone ready?" Grace asked.

"You, um, might want to change first." Diego said.

Grace looked at her yellow swing dress and shrugged. "What's wrong with this?"

"He means your face, idiot." Lila said.  _ Already acting like siblings _ , Five thought with bemusement. 

Grace blushed. "Oh, damn. I am sorry. I forgot. This has to be weird for you." She flashed into a generic looking middle aged woman. She was nondescript with a no nonsense brown bun. "Ok, I think this should do it. You can call me Lilly in this form too."

Five did some calculations in his head. "Okay, I should be able to get us there in line with our personal timeline. Come on." Five flashed them all to the hallway outside the safehouse.

"Hello!" He called opening the door. "Allison? Luther? Klaus? Vanya? Anybody?" He flashed around the living room opening doors impatiently. 

"Not here?" Diego asked.

"Goddammit, guys!" yelled Five.

********

“So, the book is about Telekinesis?” the warden asked. 

Vanya smiled. “Yep.”

“You know, I have been working on a book. Do you think you could pass on a copy of my proposal to your publisher?”

“Um, yeah. Sure. Of course.” Vanya said. The warden led her down a hallway and through several locked gates.

“It’s about a warden . . . .” he said.

Vanya nodded, tuning out the details as the warden continued. She wanted to scream. She thought about Harlan. Sweet boy. Sissy would have torn the place down brick by brick. On occasion, Carl had proposed institutionalizing Harlan. Sissy was usually so reserved, so calm. But every time he threatened to send Harlan away, she would lose it. She was fierce. Vanya remembered the way her face would flush and her eyes would get hard, defending their boy. Her heart flipped in her chest. She had been magnificent.

They came to a quiet hall.

“Anyway, we had to build it special. Everything is attached to the walls. Nothing harder than paper or styrofoam goes in or out. No plastic. Nothing that can be turned into shards and become projectiles.” The warden said.

“I will be fine.” Vanya said. They had taken her few effects. Even her belt and her hair band. The warden had wanted her to speak to him through a speaker, but she had pushed to see him in person. He had finally relented if she would sign a legal waiver. She signed without reading it.

They came to a solid door with a slot in it and a small opening. “Can’t have glass, you know.” The Warden whispered. “Telekinesis, you have a visitor. Step to the back of the room.”

Vanya stood on her toes. Harlan was seated in a metal seat. It was bolted to the floor. He was looking down at the floor. Next to him were scraps of paper. Vanya felt the anger build in her.  _ He shouldn’t be in here. They aren’t doing anything to care for him. They just locked him away and forgot about him. _ She took a breath and concentrated on calming down.

She put her hand on the warden’s arm. “He isn’t threatening anyone. Let him stay where he is. I will go in.”

“If there is a problem, the floor is charged.You may get tased if he loses control. Are you sure you don’t just wanna try talking to him from here? He hasn’t said a word in years anyway.”

_ Jesus. These monsters. _ She shook her head. “I had a cousin with Autism. I have it. And if I don’t, you can tell me you told me so when you hand me that proposal.”

The warden nodded happily. 

“All right Telekinesis, I got a woman coming in there. You be on your best behavior or you get the juice again.”

Vanya flinched. The warden raised his eyebrows, clearly interpreting it as her nerves facing down Telekinesis. She nodded. 

He opened the door and she walked in.

Harlan didn’t move. He just stared downwards, rocking slightly.

“Ha-Telekinesis. I am Vanya. I am here to see you.”

Harlan stopped. He didn’t look at Vanya but she knew him well enough to recognize that he was listening. She found she didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t promise to help him. She couldn’t break him out. 

She took a few steps closer. She made sure to keep her back to the warden. It wouldn’t do to have him see the tears.

“Harlan” she whispered. “I am here. I am here.” He turned slightly. “It’s okay.” she lied.

He turned back to the paper.

She closed her eyes. She didn’t know what she had expected. Suddenly, the strips of paper floated up into the air. They twisted into a flower and floated to her. She fought with her emotions. 

“Hey, what’s going on in there?” The warden yelled.

“We’re fine” Vanya called over her shoulder. She walked slowly to Harlan, careful not to scare him. She put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Harlan. I will get you out of here. I promise.” She didn’t know how she was going to get him out, but she was determined. She would not leave him here.

He put his hand on hers. She closed her eyes and swallowed a lump in her throat. 

“HEY, NO TOUCHING THE PRISONER. ARE YOU CRAZY?” Vanya jumped and Harlan began to whimper. She stepped back. “I promise.” she whispered. 

Harlan began to rock again. Her heart broke. 

She turned and went back to the door.

“I told ya it was a waste of time.” The warden said. “Come on, let’s get you a copy of my proposal.” 

Vanya followed him wordlessly. 

********

The Doctor said a lot of really bad sounding things to Klaus. Things like "internal bleeding" and "cascading organ failure" and "catastrophic systemic damage." She was young, with her curly brown hair pulled back and heavy bags under her eyes. She looked sympathetic as she delivered the news, he was sure she was saying all the appropriate and comforting words, but he couldn't hear them over the pounding of his pulse. 

Allison finally stepped in. "I am sorry, Doctor, but can you break it down for us? How much time does he have?"

She looked at them sadly. "He has asked that no extraordinary measures be taken. I can't say for sure, but I would start saying goodbye. I am so sorry. It is probably a matter of days, maybe hours."

Klaus's heart dropped even further. "Can I see him?" He asked quietly. 

"Of course, Mr. . . ." She stopped realizing she didn't actually know who he was. Sometimes Allison's rumor ability led to some weird internal conflicts. Usually they would resolve quickly if you gave a logical explanation. He wondered if that was how the timeline worked too. 

"Katz." He said quickly. He couldn’t exactly say Hargreeves. "His husband."

She blinked. "Of course. Sorry. Long night." She said. "You may see him. Because he is designated as end-of-life, there are no restrictions. You can stay with him around the clock. Our staff will try not to disturb you unnecessarily, so just hit the call button of you need anything." She led them to a room in a quiet hallway. The typical chaos of carts and nurses faded to a dull, quiet hum. 

"There is a waiting room with vending machines down this hall." She said. "The nurses station is that way too."

"Is he conscious? Is he in pain?" Klaus asked desperately. 

She put a hand on his shoulder. "He is in and out. Consciousness is a funny thing. We can't always know what people hear in this state. So, talk to him. His pain is being managed, but let the nurse know if he indicates he needs more medication. The goal now is to make him comfortable." 

Klaus nodded. There was a time when he would have coveted the drug-induced haze Dave was in-the "good stuff." But tonight? He had to be sharp. For him.

He walked into the room and found Dave sleeping peacefully. There were monitors and IVs connected to his arm, but they were silenced. He could see Dave’s heart beating on a screen behind him. His own heart lurched thinking about listening to the same heart this morning. Klaus pulled up a chair to Dave's unencumbered arm and took his hand. He leaned forward and placed his tear-stained face against their entwined hands. Allison pulled up a chair behind them and put an arm on his shoulder. Klaus was glad that she was here. That he wasn’t alone. 

They sat like that for awhile. Allison, sensing that Klaus wasn’t ready to talk, simply sat with them. Finally, Dave began to stir. 

Klaus sat up. “Hey.” he whispered. “Gave us quite a scare.”

Dave smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Hey. I am glad you are here.”

“This is my sister, Allison.” Klaus said, introducing her. This time the smile did reach his eyes. “She is as pretty as you said. Hi.”

Allison smiled. “It’s so great to meet you. Klaus has told me all about you.” Her voice caught. She cleared her throat. “I will give you two some time. Klaus, I will be in the waiting room if you need me.” She left and closed the door quietly behind her.

“It’s not good, is it?” Dave said to Klaus.

Klaus couldn’t find the words, so he just shook his head, tears flowing down his face.

“Hey.” Dave said. “Come here.” He wiped the tears on Klaus’s face. “I knew it wasn’t going to be long. I don’t want to linger here. If it’s my time, it’s my time.” He sighed. “I hope I did make the world a better place.”

Klaus smiled fondly. “You made my world a better place. That has to count for something.”

Dave squeezed Klaus’s hand. “You know, for what it’s worth, I have spent decades dreaming of seeing your face again. You were a dream come true, Klaus.” He closed his eyes. “I think I will rest now.” He opened them again. “Will you stay with me?”

“I promise I won’t leave you. I am here.” Klaus whispered. He crawled into the bed next to Dave and ran his hands through his hair. “I promise.”

He held him close through the night. He expected a nurse to come in at some point and scold him, but when the nurse finally did come in, he simply took note of Dave’s vitals, administered some medication in the IV and left quietly. 

Allison came in the next morning with a cup of coffee. She offered to sit with Dave, but Klaus couldn’t leave him for longer than quick trip to the bathroom. 

He held him as his breathing grew labored and whispered "I love you" over and over. And then it was over. Klaus sobbed quietly and promised “I am going to fix this. I promise. I will find you again.”

He felt his dog tags around Dave’s chest. He pulled them out to look at them. There, next to the dog tags was a simple silver ring. Klaus took in a sharp breath. 

**Vietnam 1968**

It was stupid. They hadn’t even known each other that long. But Klaus had seen the ring among the items being sold by a street vendor on his way back from grabbing them lunch and he couldn't get it out of his head. It was their last day of leave and then they were heading back into the shit. 

The last few days had been . . . well, he wasn’t sure there were adequate words to describe the last few days. The sex had been amazing. Klaus had been with a lot of partners, but this? It wasn’t just a one-night stand. A quick booty call or even a kinky night of fun among friends. And what Dave lacked in experience, he made up for in enthusiasm. He wanted to try everything (and Klaus was more than happy to oblige, being a lover of quite a few things himself). 

“I can’t believe I have been missing out on this.” Dave had said last night. 

Klaus started to make a joke. It was his default mode. But something in Dave's expression stopped him. Was that guilt? Regret? Instead Klaus kissed him deeply. "You won't ever have to miss out again, if I have anything to say about it." He ran a hand down Dave's arm. "Dave, I know it couldn’t have been easy. To have your family reject who you are.”

Dave looked up at the ceiling. “I always wished I could be like everyone else. Get married, have kids. You know, normal. But here I am realizing that I was wrong. Because what I really want is to be me. And to be with you.” He looked at Klaus tentatively. Like he thought maybe Klaus was going to laugh or pull away. Instead Klaus kissed him again. “Dave, It will get better. You will see. And maybe one day you can still have those things.” Dave hadn't believed him. How could he? It was the '60s. Klaus almost told him then. About the time travel. But he lost his nerve.

He had stared at the ring as he thought about Dave’s words. About wanting to be normal. About wanting to get married and have kids. It was WAY too soon to be thinking about that. Wasn’t it? Still, he bought the ring. 

*****

The ring had sat in his pocket for months, sometimes banging up against the rock. He had never gotten up the nerve to give it to Dave. Apparently his counterpart had.  _ Good. _ Klaus thought. He hoped it had been a happy moment for both of them. He tucked the dog tags and the ring back under Dave’s gown, close to his heart.

He waited for awhile to see if Dave would come. If he would get to see his ghost before he headed off to wherever people went. But Dave never came. Klaus remembered his horror at the idea of walking the Earth.  _ Maybe he rushed towards the light because he didn’t want to end up like that. _ Then he had another thought. The other Klaus must not be so hated by God. The other Klaus had managed to die. He hoped that, whatever was on the other side (presumably more than a barber shop with an asshole father), Klaus and Dave would have the chance to be together. 

Regardless, wherever he was, Dave wasn’t here. He said goodbye one last time and walked out the door. 

Allison was waiting for him with open arms. He was surprised he had any tears left to cry. 

“Come on.” she said. “Let’s get you back back to the safe house.”

They walked back slowly. The urgency from their prior trip seeming a distant memory. As they turned the corner a voice called out: “There you are. Jesus Christ! You have to come quickly. Now!” Three stood in front of them looking desperate.

“What?” asked Allison, confused by Klaus’s sudden stop.

“It’s Three.” he said. He looked around to make sure nobody was walking by or looking at them and manifested her. 

“While you two have been off doing . . . whatever . . . I decided to follow your brother around. Luther? Eleven caught up to him. He knocked him out and paid 5 guys to help move him to a warehouse. I have been waiting for you here forever. Let's go!" 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has been written for awhile but it hurt my heart to read. So, if you are mad at me, know I feel the same way. To be honest, I almost didn't write this fic because of this scene. I can't make it work otherwise, but I am tired of dead gay characters and I want nothing but happiness for them. So, spoiler alert if you want it, I will absolutely confirm that Dave is with his Klaus and our Klaus will save his Dave. 
> 
> The other major heartache here was obviously Harlan. Poor sweet man. Locked away with an asshole warden. I really wanted to include him in the story. I hope I got it right. If I didn't, please set me straight. 
> 
> It make take me a bit longer on the next chapter, but things are starting to move. Less character based stuff and more action and interaction. 
> 
> Chapter title is a reference to the James Taylor song about loss. It is forever linked in my head with a personal loss. The song captures so perfectly the hole that the loss of a loved one leaves.
> 
> Leave a comment! I love them.


	10. Something in Between

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A battle with some of the Sparrows comes at a price. Membership in the "Fuck Reginald Hargreeves Club" is at an all-time high. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: This one can be a bit intense. Expect canon-typical violence, major physical injury/trauma, temporary death of a major character, references to deaths of major characters

Eleven handed Luther another beer. "Yeah," Luther said, "he used to do midnight emergency drills with us too. I could never get to sleep after getting pulled out of bed like that. This one time, he went as far as hiring someone to kidnap us from our beds. Diego stabbed the guy. He survived though." 

Eleven was nodding. "Us too. But Eight did kill the guy."

They were sitting cross-legged on the floor eating Chinese food from white cartons. It was an uncomfortable position for Luther, but then he was rarely comfortable these days. He and Eleven had been comparing notes for hours. One thing was clear: Reginald Hargreeves was a stone cold bastard. 

A loud crash came from the door behind Luther. He jumped up, knocking over his beer. Eleven also sprung to his feet, hands crackling.

There in the doorway was Allison, hands raised and ready to fight. Klaus trailed behind her less enthusiastically. She stopped and stared at Luther. He put his hands up. “It’s cool. We’re cool, Allison.”

Allison looked back and forth between Eleven and Luther. “Three told us you had been kidnapped.” she said finally.

“Yeah, sorry about that. We are cool now.” Eleven said. Allison put her hands down.

Behind Allison, Klaus was murmuring quietly. “Ok. Shit. So what do we do?” he said. “Ok.”

Eleven gasped as Three materialized beside Klaus. “Three.” he said, his voice thick with regret.

“Hi, Eleven. Good to see you again. Well,  _ I _ have seen  _ you _ . You know what I mean.” 

He nodded sadly. “Three, listen . . . “ He started. She put her hand up to stop him. “Good to see you again too, Twelve.”

Everyone froze. 

From the corner of the room a voice said “Shit. Hi, Three.”

**********

The room erupted in chaos, everyone circling up, ready to fight. “Wait!” said the voice. “Please? Let me explain.”

Nobody let their guard down. Three stared at Twelve with hatred. “Why? So you can talk your way out of this and go tell Daddy?” she spit. 

“I’m not a threat. I promise.” Twelve said.

“If you aren’t a threat, why don’t you show yourself?” Eleven reasoned.

“Fine. Just don’t electrocute me or whatever, okay?” Twelve dropped his cloaking powers. The slight man with dark hair and dark eyes looked at each of them. “I know I don’t deserve a chance. Especially with you, Three.” he said. “But I want to join you.”

Three felt rage explode inside of her. Twelve the spy. Twelve, the one who got Two killed. Who killed Seven.  _ Twelve _ . Daddy’s perfect little soldier. “Please.” she spit out, anger clouding her voice. “You have been Reginald’s number one fan for as long as I can remember. You spied for him. You killed for him. You have done everything in your power to prove your loyalty to him. Don’t think I don’t see you, skulking around the house. Don’t think I don’t know.”

Twelve took a step back at the intensity of her anger. “You are right. I don’t deserve a chance. But I know things. Important things.”

“Like what?” Eleven asked. Three wanted to throttle him too. Allison gave her a look of solidarity. At least someone wasn’t falling for it.

“I thought . . . I thought that we were saving the world. I thought that the ends justified the means. I didn’t realize . . . .” He broke off. “I used to spy on Dad. When I was little. And I would hear him talk about saving the world. About a looming danger. The apocalypse. And I believed him. Wholeheartedly. I believed he wanted to save the world. I was an idiot.”

“So what changed?” Three asked, unable to keep the skepticism out of her voice. “You just woke up one day and realized that you were on the wrong side?”

Twelve looked down at the floor. “He made a mistake. One mistake and I realized he could see me. He knew that I was there. He flinched. In one moment, I realized that he had been putting on a show my entire life. So I began to use old fashioned methods of sneaking around. I hid and snuck around. I had to know what he was doing. Really doing behind closed doors.”

“What did you find out?” Eleven asked. Even Three was curious now, though she kept her face blank.

“He was using us. He wanted complete control of us. As it turns out, he wasn’t trying to stop the apocalypse at all. He was trying to kill off humanity.”

“Why?” Three asked, unable to help herself. 

“Because there is something else you should know about him. The reason he could see me. The reason he wanted us all in the first place.” He looked around hesitantly.

Three’s annoyance returned. “Twelve, just spit it out.”

“Dad isn’t human. He’s an alien.” Twelve said.

Eleven laughed. It was bitter and cold. “You almost had me.” he said, hand sparking back to life.

Something clicked for Three. “Eleven, wait.” Eleven stopped and looked at Three. “You can’t possibly believe that Dad is an alien.”

“Look, I have been observing everyone for awhile now. I didn’t typically follow Dad. What would be the point? You and the rest of our siblings are the ones out there every day. Meting out justice.” She said the last bit sarcastically. “Anyway, one night I heard him talking to someone. Something he said didn’t make any sense. He said he was ‘close to destroying them,’ and ‘soon we will rule this planet.’ I thought he meant through you. The Sparrow Academy. But it was weird.”

“Go see for yourself.” Twelve said. “He has his monthly meeting at the club tonight. Everyone he meets there . . . .” Twelve shuddered.

Three looked at Klaus, Allison and Eleven. Klaus nodded. “I mean, where is he going to go? We know he is here.” She disappeared.

*********

Reginald put on a hat and coat and stepped out of the door. Three followed behind at a respectable distance. She knew that he could probably see Twelve for the same reason she could. That his eyes didn’t work like human eyes. Logically, the same wouldn't be true for her. But she couldn’t help but feel exposed. She had lied that he was boring, but the truth was that she still felt a little scared of him. Old habits die hard. Nonetheless, she followed.

Reginald walked down the street and turned down an unmarked alley. He walked to a blue door and looked up at a camera positioned above the corner of the door. The door opened and he walked in. Three grimaced. She was a ghost. Of course she could go through. But she hated doing it. “Come on, Three.” she told herself. She walked up to the door, shut her eyes and walked through.

Inside was a moodily lit large room with large upholstered chairs and bookshelves along the walls. Reginald walked with another man through a door in the back of the room. She cringed and walked through that door as well. 

She found herself in a conference room. Reginald sat in one of the large leather seats. There were four men already seated at the table. 

“Good. We’re all here.” said a man at the head of the table. Then he reached up and tore off his face. The rest of them did the same. Beneath their masks the men had green skin and bony protrusions. 

Three stared in horror.  _ Jesus. Twelve was right. _ They began to speak in a language she couldn’t identify. It sounded like clicks and whirs. One of them said something and they all looked in her direction. If she had a heart, it would have stopped. She heard a noise behind her. One of the men . . . beings? . . . stood up to investigate. He walked over to a shelf. A long tongue snaked out and retracted. Three barely caught a glimpse of a rat as it disappeared down the being's throat.

They resumed talking in their clicks and whirs. Horrified and a bit queasy, she phased out and returned to her siblings and The Umbrellas. 

"Hey. Hey, you okay?" Klaus asked tenderly. Her face must have revealed how disturbed she was. 

"Manifest me." Three said with feigned confidence. She looked at them each in the eyes. "He's telling the truth. Dad is an alien. And he isn't the only one."

*******

Five was pacing. Diego and Lila were sprawled on the couch. Lilly was watching from a stool by the kitchen counter. 

"How hard is it not to wander off?" Five was ranting. He focused on his annoyance and anger. It was easier than being worried.

"Maybe we should call Vanya." Lilly said, holding up a piece of paper.

Five stared at her. "What?"

Lilly read: "Gone to find Harlan. Have phone." She looked at Five. "There's a number."

Five grabbed the paper and ran to the tech closet. He had to try 5 phones before one finally powered up. He dialed the number impatiently.

"Allison? Klaus?" His sister's voice said.

"Where the hell are you Vanya?" Five spit out.

"Shit. Five. Sorry, I am almost there. Just cutting through the park. Fuck!" He heard a loud noise. Then scuffling.

"Come on. Vanya's in trouble" He yelled. Diego sprang up into action, hands poised on the knives at his hips. Five ran out the front door, the other trailing behind.

They were silent on the elevator other than Five's foot tapping impatiently. 

They stepped outside the building. "Where's the park?" Five asked. Lights flashed in the sky and there was a loud boom. The ground shook and glass rained down from above.

"I am gonna guess that way." said Lila. They ran. 

******

"So what now?" Eleven asked. 

"We take them down." Luther said. "Are you in? Twelve?"

They both nodded. Luther looked at Allison and Klaus. "Do you think it's safe to go back to the Safe House? We need a plan. 

Allison shrugged. "Probably. Certainly beats reacting and throwing ourselves at the problem like we usually do."

A loud boom sounded. 

"Or we could follow the sound of our siblings maybe causing another apocalypse." Klaus yelled, his ears still ringing. 

"Let’s do that." Allison agreed. 

They ran.

*********** 

Vanya's heart was still broken thinking about her boy. Sweet Harlan didn’t deserve any of this. 

Her phone rang. She sighed in relief. Her brother and sister were safe. Her heart twisted slightly. That probably meant that her brother was heartbroken. She and Allison were both coping with losses, but she wasn't sure it compared to watching the person you loved died. She had skipped over that part.

"Allison? Klaus?" Vanya voice said.

"Where the hell are you Vanya?" Five spit out.  _ Five. He’s back. He is going to be so pissed. _

"Shit. Five. Sorry, I am almost there. Just cutting through the park."

Someone grabbed her from behind, twisting her arm and causing her to drop the phone. "Fuck!" She yelled.

Vanya used her momentum to flip the person over her shoulder. 

_ Lila's counterpart. What was her number? Ten.  _ She thought. The woman smiled menacingly and rolled her hips, jumping back to her feet. 

Proximity was not going to be her friend here. Vanya suspected Ten had spent substantially more time training in combat. Vanya threw herself back with her powers, putting some distance between them. 

"Where are the others, bitch?" Ten sneered. She began to glow with power. "Oh, this is a new one. I like this." She said. 

_ Shit. Shit shit shit. _ Vanya thought. She could barely control her power. She didn't want to think about what this psycho would do with it. She felt her power start to build as well. Felt a glow in her chest.

Ten laughed. "Wait, this feels familiar." She was quiet for a moment. Then she grinned wider. "This feels like Telekinesis. Are you his kid or something?" She shook her head. "Doesn’t matter, we will destroy you too." 

Vanya barely had time to react. She felt it just a split second before it reached her. A huge wave of energy. She had time to put up a shield. To send her own wave out in response. Even with the wave, she was knocked to the ground. 

Around them, the trees buckled and cracked. The sound wave was immense. 

Ten dropped to the ground, smirking. The smirk dropped when Vanya sat up.  _ I'm not as easy to kill as you thought, am I? _

Around them the trees had been flattened. A huge circular clearing where a path through the woods had been.

"Look, I don’t know what Dad told you, but we don't want to destroy anything." Vanya tried to reason with her. After expending that much energy, Ten would need to recharge. If Vanya could just keep some distance, she might be able to get through to her. "We are just trying to get back home." 

But Ten wasn't listening. She charged at Vanya. Vanya sent out a small wave, pushing Ten back. Her mind flashed back to a field full of dead agents. Guilt twisted in her gut.

She was careful not to push too hard, but she was still relieved when Ten jumped back up. Ten's eyes began to glow again. "I will destroy you." 

No choice but to charge, Vanya ran towards Ten. She tried to remember the little combat training she had. She barreled into Ten. Ten barely budged. 

Ten swung at Vanya.  _ This is good. _ She thought as she got punched in the face.  _ At least she isn't using my power.  _

Vanya ducked low and tried to punch Ten in the gut. Ten countered and kicked at her legs. Vanya fell to the ground. 

Vanya tried to get up, but Ten hit her again. She heard a ringing noise and her vision blurred.  _ Come on, Vanya. You have to get up. _ She used her power to push herself away. Ten flew up behind her, landing in front of her, eyes aglow. 

Vanya rose into the air, her power building. She was having trouble focusing, but she tried to push through. She let her power build but she was a split second too late. Ten shot another wave of energy. Vanya was able to get a weak shield up, but it wasn’t enough to keep her from flying backwards. The last thing she saw before everything went black was Ten's face grinning down at her. 

*****

Eleven shot light into the air revealing a large circular clearing full of downed trees. They worked their way between fallen trees towards two figures, both of whom were now glowing. Luther's size gave him an advantage. He picked up trees and logs like they were weightless and tossed them out of the way.

"It's Vanya." whispered Allison. 

"She's fighting Ten." Twelve said. He stepped lightly through the underbrush out of habit. She had almost forgotten he was there. 

They were almost there when another shockwave hit them. Luther stood in front, taking the brunt of the force. He turned to the others. “Everyone okay?” he asked.

Klaus’s eyes widened. “VANYA!” he yelled. He began running over the trees to get to her fallen form.

Ten saw Klaus running towards her and then at the rest of them. Eleven shot a blast of electricity at her. Her eyes widened and went to Allison. “You bitch, you mind-controlled them again.”

“No, it’s okay Ten. Let’s talk.” yelled Twelve, trying to defuse the situation, but Ten wasn’t listening. She picked up a tree and swung it at Klaus, who was almost to Vanya’s still body. He flew across the clearing and lay unmoving. 

Luther yelled and grabbed a tree of his own. He ran at her swinging. “Don’t kill her!” yelled Eleven, shooting balls of electricity. But it was too hard to hit her with all the movement. She dropped the tree, now smoking, and began grappling with Luther.

“Can you knock them out?” Twelve asked. 

“I can’t. They are too close and he requires a lot more power than she does. He might accidentally kill her if she goes limp on him suddenly.” Eleven yelled. 

Allison ran towards the fight. She tried to yell something but Ten switched back to Vanya’s power, pushing the sound back at them. 

Luther was big and he was a fighter, but Ten was quick. She dodged and weaved around him, hitting him over and over with the strength she was borrowing from Luther. She got him in the face. His nose began to bleed.

Allison looked around desperately for something. ANYTHING. She gasped.

On the other side of the clearing were Five and Diego. Diego’s girlfriend was with them along with another woman Allison didn’t recognize. 

Five turned to the others and said something. Diego shook his head but Five ignored him. Instead, he put his arm on Lila’s shoulder and reappeared next to Ten and Luther. 

Luther punched Ten and she went down. Hard. She stared at Lila, who was standing over her. She raised her hands but nothing happened. She rolled and jumped up, ready to fight. A blast of electricity came from behind Allison and Ten collapsed again.

They converged.

“She’s fine.” said Eleven. “I just knocked her out. Think of a taser.” 

Five looked around nervously. “We have to get out of here before we have more Company.” He stared at Eleven and Twelve. “DO we have more company?”

“They’re cool.” said Luther.

“The others.” Allison said.

Allison ran to Vanya. She was stirring. Her eyes were glazed.  _ Probably a concussion. _

“Allison?” she asked. 

“You are okay.” she whispered to Vanya. Luther ran up behind them and lifted her tiny form. “I got you.” he said, taking them back to others. 

Allison ran to Klaus. Her heart dropped. “KLAUS!” she yelled, her voice breaking. 

Klaus lay with his head at an impossible angle. She collapsed next to him. “No.” she said. “You are not allowed to die.” She cradled him in her arms.

She looked up at the others. They disappeared. Then Five was back. Behind her. “Allison.” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We have to get out of here. We aren’t in any shape to fight.”

She glared at Five. “We can’t leave him.”

“We won’t.” said Five. The world flashed.

************

Klaus was standing on a grassy hill. A lake spread out in front of him. He blinked. The last thing he remembered, he had been . . . where? In a park? He remembered the battle. Remembered being picked up into the air . . . and then . . . nothing.

By the lake, under a large oak, there were two men. He squinted. Was that Dave? Seated on a blanket, legs crossed. He looked like he had the day Klaus had lost him. Klaus’s heart squeezed. Laid out on the blanket, head in Dave’s lap, was a man who looked exactly like Klaus. Dave was running his hands through the other man’s hair.  _ Four. He found him.  _

Four was telling Dave something. He threw his head back and laughed. Suddenly Klaus felt like he was intruding. They didn't want him here. Klaus looked around, slightly panicked. There was nowhere to go. Even if there had been, it was too late.

Dave saw him and grinned. He said something to Four who sat up and waved too. Klaus swallowed the lump in his throat and walked toward the men. 

They met him halfway. Four threw his arms around Klaus and Dave wrapped his arms around both. It probably should have been weird but it was just nice to get a hug. 

They released him and Klaus missed the contact. "Thank you." Four said. His expression turned serious. "You were there for him when I couldn't be."

"You were right." said Dave. "We found each other." Dave reached out for Klaus's hand. A ring on his hand caught Klaus’s eye. He felt a rush of emotions. Joy that Dave was happy, devastation and longing that he didn't have his Dave back. Klaus blinked back tears and smiled, adopting a casual stance. "Well, yeah. I never doubted it." 

Klaus suspected both men read him like a book, but they let it go. Instead, Four's eyebrows furrowed together. "You won't be here long. She has something for you. We asked her if we could see you."

Klaus sighed. "Yeah, She doesn't like me."

Dave and Four shared a look. Klaus suspected She had told them the same thing.  _ Probably begged them to give me whatever message it was just to avoid seeing me.  _ He thought. 

"I don't think that is precisely it." Said Four. "It isn't like She is particularly transparent, but she said you don't belong here. It feels wrong." He shrugged. "Whatever that means."

Klaus nodded. He pushed aside his anger and hurt. His Dad hadn't loved him, why would God? "Well, at least you aren't my Dad. Last time I died, he was here to tell me how disappointing I am."

Dave's face hardened. "From what I know about him, being anything other than what he wanted you to be is probably a win."

"Won't here an argument from me." said Four.

Klaus felt a rush of gratitude. "Well, if disappointing Dad is the goal, I am an olympian." He joked. But it was without bite. 

"We have something for you." said Four. 'Apparently, she isn't happy with what is happening in the world. She said you needed some help."

"What is it?" Klaus asked. "A weapon?" 

"Sort of." A voice said behind him. Klaus turned at the familiar voice. 

"Hi Klaus." Ben said.

Klaus ran to him and threw his arms around him. "I'm sorry, Ben. For everything. And for not telling everyone you were there. I will now. I promise. "

"Me too. I acted like an asshole and wouldn't let you have your body back. I'm sorry." He said. 

Klaus stepped back. He looked at Dave and Four. "So how do we . . . ." The world spun and went dark. Klaus felt like he had fallen a long way and knocked the air out of his lungs. He sat up and sucked in huge breaths. 

He looked around. He was in the safehouse. His siblings all turned to him with shocked expressions. Luther was covered in blood. Vanya was curled up on the couch with ice on her head. All of them looked like they had been crying. 

"How?" Said Five. 

Klaus smiled sheepishly and lifted his hand to show them the  **Hello** tattoo.

"You were dead." said Allison in disbelief.

"Didn’t stick." Said Klaus. 

Allison blinked. "Oh," said Klaus, "and there's something else."

A man of his word, he waved a hand theatrically and Ben manifested. 

"Hey guys. Miss me?" Ben said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really enjoying bringing the two groups of siblings together. The unique nature of their shared trauma and isolation make for an interesting combination from a writing perspective. 
> 
> I hadn't planned to get into Reginald’s alien nature much, and certainly not here, but it made for a good character motivation for 12 and I ended up having way too much fun with that scene as a writer. I wrote it as a one off line, then a scene I thought would go, then it became one of the scenes I liked best. So, that is part of the fun, right?
> 
> I was nervous about the combat. I don't have much experience writing it and it can get confusing. Especially when there are a lot of characters. It works for me, now that it's written. I hope it worked for you as a reader. I plan another major fight scene in an upcoming chapter, so if anyone wants to read and comment pre-publication, let me know. 
> 
> I originally was just going to imply that Klaus and Dave would be together in TUAs version of the afterlife, but I changed my mind. I wanted to show them. I hope you liked it as much as I did. 
> 
> As always, I would love comments and feedback. 


	11. Liquid Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The "Reginald Hargreeves is Trash" club compares notes and engages in some alcohol-fueled bonding. Five lays out his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: alcohol, references to addiction and drug use, references to self-harm, references to death of a character and grief

Klaus stood up shakily.  _ I guess being dead really wears you out.  _ He did his best to look nonchalant.

"Klaus, what the fuck?" said Diego.

"Yeah, turns out God wasn't ready for me. And She thought we needed some help." Klaus said, gesturing to Ben.

Everyone stared at them. 

Klaus strolled into the room towards an empty chair. "Guys, don't be rude. Ben, meet Eleven, Twelve and . . . ." He stopped midstride. "I am making assumptions here but the woman on the floor tied up with zip ties is Ten and the woman standing next to her is Diego's girlfriend, Lila." 

He looked at the woman seated near Five. "Sorry, I don’t believe we've met. I'm Klaus."

She suppressed a smile. "Lilly. Lila's sister."

"Ah." he said. "Gang, meet Ben. Our deceased version of Six."

He walked over to the chair and sat cross-legged on it. "Not that I am complaining, but how is Ten not attacking us?"

Diego smiled. "Lila is doing that. Apparently there is some sort of interference effect thingy if she tries to use Ten's power. It blocks both of them. Five explained it better." 

"You know? I am actually good. As long as she isn't swinging a tree at me, I don't need to know more." Klaus replied.

Ten sneered at him.  _ Must be my charming personality. _

Twelve sat near Ten. "Traitor" she growled at him.

"Look, Ten, like I was trying to tell you, we aren't traitors. There is something you need to understand."

"I understand that you turned against your family. And you." She spat at Eleven. "You helped them capture me."

Eleven sighed wearily. "Ten, Dad isn’t who you think he is. He isn't trying to save the world. He wants to destroy it."

Klaus knew it was important that they get Ten on their side, but he was sort of enjoying the family drama not centered on him. 

Ten rolled her eyes. "Oh, did your new friends tell you that?" She mocked. "Why the hell would you believe them." 

Shit, that was probably his cue. He looked at Three. She nodded. He helped her manifest. He felt a slight headache coming on. Apparently dying and manifesting multiple ghosts was tough on the body.

"No, I did." Ten stared at her. "Three?" Ten asked.

"Yeah. It's me. I spied on Dad and it's true. He isn't working for the good of the world. He isn't even  _ human.  _ He is an alien of some sort. Twelve has seen it too."

Ten stared at her. 

"Sorry, WHAT?" asked Five. Right. He hadn’t been there.

"I knew it!" Diego said.

"You did not." Luther responded. 

"Well, I knew something was up with him." Diego said.

"I think, perhaps, we could all use a drink while we compare notes." Klaus offered. Maybe some vodka would ease the headache. 

***********

It probably should have been awkward, but it wasn’t. Perhaps shared trauma worked in their favor. Or perhaps everyone was just too tired to feel awkward.

Three and Twelve described what they knew.

"And then one of them ate a rat whole!" said Three. She cringed. "It was disgusting."

Vanya told everyone about Harlan. 

"It's awful!" she said. "He is locked away, threatened with physical violence at every turn. What did he do? Tell me."

Twelve looked abashed. "Dad told us he was a threat. And he seemed out of control. He was throwing things around. Screaming. Not responding."

"He's autistic, you assholes." she screamed.

"We didn’t know." said Eleven.

Vanya deflated. "I just . . . you have to help him."

"We will. I promise." said Twelve.

"Wait a minute." Lilly said. "How did he even get powers? Was he sent back in time? Was it something you did?" she directed the latter at Five.

Vanya smiled sheepishly. "That's on me. He drowned. I was desperately trying to save him and I just . . . somehow transferred my power to him."

Everyone stared at her.

"You can do that?" Lilly said.

She shrugged. "I didn't exactly plan it. I don't understand how it even happened. I tried to take it back, but I guess it didn't work."

"That explains it." Ten said. "Her power feels exactly Telekinesis's." Ten had slowly warmed up. She was now seated on the floor next to Lila. Lila was still neutralizing her powers, but the more she learned, the more it appeared Ten was on their side.

Five filled everyone in on what he had learned at The Commission. The importance of Grace. The effect of their dinner.

"Just so I am clear," Luther said "the reason we don't cause The Apocalypse is because Dad murdered the woman upon which our Mom was based and then created our mother out of spite?"

"That tracks." said Eleven. 

"So what now?" asked Allison. 

Five looked at everyone. They were exhausted. They were stressed out. HE was exhausted and stressed out.

"I don't know what you are going to do, but I am going to pour myself another bourbon and deal with all this in the morning." 

"Finally, someone says something sensible." Klaus joked as he headed to the kitchen to make a drink.

******* 

"All I am saying is that you are the same person, so it would be like masturbation." Diego argued.

Lila laughed and looked at Ten who rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Diego. It's not happening."

He grinned and raised his hands in defeat.

"Trust me. It wouldn't work out well." said Five. "I knew a guy at The Commission who tried it. In addition to the normal side effects of encountering yourself during time travel, which are not pleasant, having sex with someone who likes the same thing you do isn't as fun as it sounds. From what I hear, it makes it pretty boring and predictable."

Lilly laughed. "Well, maybe it would be fun for  _ me.  _ I can be someone totally different."

The five of them were spread out near the kitchen, a bottle of bourbon in reach. 

"Fair point." said Five. "Still, I have dealt with multiple Fives over the past few days and I can say with certainty that I don't even want to have a drink with myself."

"That's because you are insufferable" teased Diego. 

Five whacked him lightly on the arm. "At least my girlfriend didn't try to kill me." Five joked.

Lila laughed. "He's got you there."

******

On the other side of the room, things were more somber. 

Klaus lay on the floor, his feet on the wall. He was staring at the ceiling.

"Can I get you another" Allison asked.

He shook his head. "Three and Ben seem to be having a pretty good conversation with Twelve and Vanya. If I get too drunk, I can't keep them visible. 

Allison looked at the group. They were seated on the couch. Ben seemed to be telling a story. She thought she heard something about her Teddy Ruxpin. Everyone else laughed. She shook her head and looked back at Klaus. 

"Want company?" she asked.

He nodded silently. 

She laid on the floor next to Klaus. "How are you holding up?" She asked. 

He sighed. "I saw them. When I died."

"Oh." She said.

"They're happy. Really happy." Klaus said. 

"And that's a good thing? A bad thing? Do we hate Four?" Allison asked.

Klaus snorted. He leaned his head onto her shoulder. "No, we are happy for them. At least I get to be happy with him somewhere, right?" 

They laid there like that for awhile, not talking. She wanted to say something to make it better, but there was nothing to say. This wasn't something you fixed. It was something you survived. Besides, her recovery had taught her that sometimes being there and saying nothing was better. People talked too much. Instead, she wrapped her arm around his and held his hand. 

"How about you?" he asked. "How are you holding up?" 

"I'm okay. Sort of. Ray was a good man. A great man. But the things I loved about him were the things that kept him from coming with me. I can't stop thinking about him. Wondering if he thought of me."

Klaus pulled away and leaned on his elbow to look at her. "Allison, anyone who knew Ray for five minutes knew he was madly in love with you. There is no world in which he didn't think about you for the rest of his life."

She smiled and wiped away quiet tears. "We sure are a pair, aren't we? Two frog bitches."

Klaus laughed. "Come on. Let's get another drink."

************

Luther was off to the side leaning against a wall and drinking a beer. He had 0 interest in a discussion about having sex with your counterpart in an alternate timeline. Honestly, he was enjoying watching his siblings without the hard work of keeping up with them. Luther had always been quiet compared to them. Then he lived on the moon with just himself for company.

He had been getting used to crowds again at the club but nobody had expected him to make small talk. All he was supposed to do was loom over people. He was rusty at all of this.

"Hey, at least they aren't trying to kill each other." Eleven said walking up to him. 

Luther laughed. "All we needed was a little booze."

"Think of all the wars that could have been avoided with a good scotch." he laughed.

Eleven leaned against the wall next to Luther and they watched as Five waved his hands emphatically.

"You had good form when my sister tried to kill you. You a fighter?"

Luther nodded. "Even made some money off it for awhile." 

"Oh yeah? What was that like?" Eleven asked.

Luther grinned. "So it all started when I was working as a bouncer . . . ."

************

Ben and Three were the only ones awake. Everyone else has passed out hours ago in the rooms or, in Klaus’s case on the couch. 

Klaus hadn’t actually gotten that drunk tonight, Ben noted in relief. He watched his brother for a moment. Despite the shit they gave each other, he had missed him. Worried about him. 

Three walked up behind him. "I used to worry about mine too." she said. "He would get so fucked up . . . . Killing himself was a 'when, not if' situation."

Ben looked at her. "Same. Tonight's not so bad, but Klaus has actually managed to kill himself a couple of times. He always gets sent back, as you saw. So far." He frowned slightly. "He managed to get sober for awhile. I had hoped . . . ."

She place a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. He's fine for tonight. I want to show you something."

He followed her through the emergency door and up the stairs. They came out on the roof. 

It was a pretty night. Clear. Ben guessed it was crisp and cool. He missed feeling the wind on his face.

"This is nice." Ben said, looking around. 

Three grinned. 'I figured it was better than standing in a dark room staring at your sleeping brother like a creep." Ben laughed.

They sat, staring at the stars. 

"What was it like?" Three asked tentatively. "I was too scared to find out." She said sadly.

"Me too." Ben said. "I mean before. When I died." He thought about it for a minute. 

"It's hard to describe. It's good. Peaceful. You can find people who mattered to you. You can do the things you always wanted to do. You can meet new people too. Oh, and you can feel and eat and taste."

She sighed. "God, I miss ice cream." 

He nodded. 

"Will you go back? When all of this is done."

Ben looked back at the door. "Eventually, yeah. I just want to be sure everyone is okay. You know?"

She nodded. "I do."

************

They crawled out of bed slowly. Breakfast was powdered eggs and coffee. It wasn’t great, but it did the job.

"So what now?" asked Vanya. They were all seated in the living room nursing various states of hangover.

Five began pacing. "I'm glad you asked. The way I see it, we have three things we need to do." He held up a finger. "First, we need to deal with the other three Sparrows and Reginald."

"What do you mean deal with the other three Sparrows?" Ten asked with an edge in her voice. 

"Hey, no. Not like that. Well, hopefully not like that." Five amended. "We need them on our side. We need to make sure they don't interfere when we fix the timeline. Dad, on the other hand . . . ." He trailed off. 

"What happens to us. When you restore the timeline?" asked Twelve quietly. 

Five stopped. "I don't know. If you come with us, we can take you out of the timeline. If we do that, you could establish new lives in the restored timeline. You would likely have living counterparts. Except Six obviously. But you could establish a different identity. Or you could work for The Commission."

"We'd love to have you." Lilly affirmed. "Now that we know about the aliens, the focus of The Commission will shift. We will stop them from interfering with our world. I will make sure of that. They used us. We will make them pay." Lilly said.

"And if we don't?" Twelve asked. 

"There are a couple of theories. You may just disappear. Like you never existed. But there are theories that there are multiple timelines existing at any given time. Parallel universes. Fixing the timeline will simply align us with a different universe."

Twelve nodded thoughtfully. He looked at his siblings. "Something to think about."

"We need your help." He said to the Sparrow siblings. "Initially, I figured we would have to go head-to-head. Fight it out. But maybe you can get your siblings to join us." 

Five held up two fingers. "Second, we need to replace Grace. Lilly can transform herself to look like her, but we only have a small slice of her personality. Klaus, that's where you come in. I need you to try to summon the real Grace."

Klaus steeled himself. "I will do it, but only on one condition. You have to save Dave."

Five stared at him. "What? Klaus, I can try but we are talking about restoring our reality. Don't you want to go home."

Klaus snorted. "What do I have to go home to? I'm an addict. I was on the streets. The only time I have ever found happiness was with Dave. Do you know how fucked up that is? The only place I was happy was in the Vietnam War. I mean, Jesus Five. Give me this. He's just a guy. A guy who dies in a pointless war because his homophobic piece of shit family would rather him be dead than gay." Klaus took a breath. 

Something passed across Five's face. "You really loved him, huh?"

"More than anything. Please." Klaus whispered. 

"What was his last name?"

"Katz. David Katz." Klaus said, clutching the dog tags over his heart. 

Five disappeared. Everyone sat there in silence. 

"I wanted to hear the third point." Ben teased behind Klaus. Three snorted. 

Five reappeared. "Okay." Five said. 

"Okay?" Klaus asked hopefully. 

"Okay." Five said. He didn't elaborate.

"The third point is the easiest. We have to make Reginald forget about that dinner. Allison, that will be you. You don't have any conditions I should know about, right?"

Allison laughed lightly. "I just want to get to my daughter."

Five nodded. "So that's the plan. Questions?"

Nobody said anything. 

"Great. Let's talk details."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter jumps around a ton. This is the problem with 12 characters. I am ultimately happy with the way it worked out with little snippets of the conversations. I hope it worked for you. 
> 
> I couldn't resist a little play on the "would you have sex with your clone?" meme. 
> 
> I also really wanted to show Klaus processing what he had seen. I love his relationship with Allison so much. 
> 
> Originally, I had a very different story in my head, but I couldn't kill off the Sparrows I had written. I like the way it is unfolding better. Unfortunately, that means I am unlikely to wrap this up by Thanksgiving, as I originally hoped, but I think the story is better for it.
> 
> Chapter name is a reference to alcohol as a coping mechanism. I also referenced self harm in this chapter. I just want to note that if you are identifying with these points, please know that you are not alone. Reach out and talk to someone. It will help. I promise. 
> 
> Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos. They mean so much to me. 


	12. Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the Sparrows try to gain the upper hand, it leads to an epic face off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: violence

Twelve and Ten went home. There was a chance that Eleven had been seen during the fight and he had been gone too long, so he stayed at the safe house. 

"Are you sure?" Twelve had asked. "You'll be a fugitive. The reports don't mention any eyewitnesses."

"You know how Dad works." Eleven said sadly. He looked pointedly at Three, who was visible with Klaus’s help.

"Be careful." she said to Ten and Twelve. "I will be watching, but help will be slow to come."

"We'll be fine." Ten assured here. "It will be good to know you have our back."

Three didn't like the plan. It would be risky. But it was the best they had. If they delayed much longer, Dad would be suspicious if any of them returned. For now, they could claim Ten had been injured. She had some pretty impressive bruises and scrapes to lend credence to the story. Twelve could claim to have escaped with her overnight, but that was probably the limit. 

***********

Eight was angry from the moment they walked in the door.

"Why the hell didn't you call for back-up?" she yelled, braid swinging behind her. She was in full combat uniform as if she might be called to fight at any moment.

"There wasn't time. Besides, I thought Green Cube must have done it when Eleven showed up. Before he betrayed me." Ten said.

Eight wasn't appeased. "I have been training for this my entire life and you leave me on the sideline." she huffed. "I am going to patrol the grounds." she yelled, one of the drones following behind her. 

Twelve felt a rush of relief. Eight had always been the most brutal and the most loyal of the family. If Dad asked her to slit someone's throat or burn down a building, she would do it without hesitation. If anyone was going to attack and ask questions later, it was Eight.

A second drone came up to Twelve and Ten. “Your father has requested your presence in his study.” it said in a flat, mechanical voice. Twelve felt his stomach flip. He supposed it was better than having to wait anyway. This wasn’t going to get easier with time.

Five was leaving the study as they entered.

“Five.” Ten said. 

He looked at her bruised face. Her cuts and scrapes. For a moment he softened. “You okay?” he asked. 

She nodded. “I will be.” she said. 

“Good luck. Dad is in a mood.” he said quietly. Then he stiffened and walked away.

Their father was looking at some sort of readout when they walked in. Knowing better than to interrupt him or to sit down without his permission, each stood at attention next to a chair. He let them stand there for several minutes. Twelve fought the urge to break the silence. 

"You failed." He said, finally looking up. He made a motion with his hand and a video shot out of the drone onto the wall. "Do you want to tell me how this happens and you don't manage to defeat even one of the interlopers?"

On the wall, overhead footage of the flattened park played. Twelve let himself relax incrementally. It was clearly after the fight. Hopefully that meant there was no footage of the fight itself.

"Eleven betrayed us." Ten said bitterly. "I found Vanya in the park. We fought. She had back-up. I thought I did too when Eleven showed up. Until he hit me with his power."

Twelve nodded. "I heard the commotion and got there just in time to see the shot. It was all I could do to get out of there with Ten."

Reginald stared at both of them silently. Twelve forced himself to make eye contact. Ever since he had discovered his Dad's secret, it was hard not to notice that Reginald didn't blink enough. It made Twelve uncomfortable. Still, he held Reginald’s gaze.

"I trained you both better than this." He said. "Never trust anyone. Even your siblings." 

Twelve felt a sting of anger.  _ He has been dividing us all along. We are just his weapons. His little toys. _ He kept his face impassive and nodded along as Dad ranted about their failure. He wondered why it had taken him so long to see through all of this. 

"You are dismissed. Go help Five. He has a lead on the interlopers."

He returned to the papers on his desk. He didn't even spare them a glance as they left. 

Twelve suppressed a sigh of relief. Green Cube was watching. It was always watching. 

They went to the Command Center in the attic. It had been outfitted with a number of computers, monitors and desks. 

Five was huddled over a monitor with Six. He looked up at Twelve and Ten. 

"Hey." he said simply. But a small measure of relief peeked through.  _ He knows.  _ Twelve thought.  _ He knows Dad is the bad guy and he doesn’t dare say anything.  _ But Twelve pushed the thought away. It didn't matter right now. They weren't free to talk. Later. Later he would have a chance to convince his brother to join them.

“Glad you are here. We got a lead. Yesterday, before the fight, Vanya visited Telekinesis. We pulled the prison security feeds and we have clear footage of her entering and exiting his room. There are no cameras in his cell. He pulls them off the wall every time they try to install them. So we don’t know what she said. But I think we can assume they are going to break him out.”

Ten raised her eyebrows. “Telekinesis? I haven’t thought about him in years. What would they want with him?”

“I don’t know. But we know that they want him, so we can use it against them.” Six said. “As we speak, Telekinesis is being sedated and brought to the Academy. We will put him in the basement cell and interrogate him. And if we can’t get what we need, we will kill him. We can’t risk our enemies uniting. Especially now that they have the numbers with Eleven.”

Twelve’s stomach dropped.  _ Shit shit shit. We promised to protect him.  _ “What if they find out what we are doing?” he asked pointedly, hoping that Three got the hint. “They could be, I don’t know, watching the prison or something. We will be leading them right here.”

Ben grinned. “Then we will be ready for them.”

***********

Vanya’s eyes glowed in rage. “So help me, if they hurt him . . . .”

“Vanya, we are going to save him.” Diego assured her. “We won’t let you down.”

Vanya sat down on the couch. “Give me a minute.” she said. 

She took a breath and closed her eyes. She had to calm down. She felt the sharp pang of guilt.  _ I put you in danger.  _ She thought. She heard her last conversation with Sissy in her mind. 

_ "Vanya, I would do anything for you. To protect you. But Harlan has been through enough. I can’t . . . I can’t put that child in any more danger." _

_ I am sorry Sissy. I am so sorry. You were right. I was a danger to him. To both of you. It was stupid of me to think we could have a family. I could have a normal life. _

“Stop blaming yourself.” Five said behind her quietly. “You walked away. Sissy did it her way and he still ended up locked away and constantly threatened with physical violence.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “We are going to save him and we are going to make this right. I promise. But this is not your fault. Not entirely. And even if it were . . . we can’t undo the past. Even time travelers.”

Vanya smiled and put her hand on Five’s. “Thanks, Five. I just wish I had stayed. Maybe I could have protected him.”

“Maybe you will get the chance.” said Five. “For now, we have to work with what we have. Come on. Let’s go save Harlan.”

*********

Vanya heard Lila blow a hole in the courtyard wall.  _ That should bring them running _ . She thought. She signaled to Eleven. 

A bright arc of light shot out of Eleven’s hands, hitting a panel on the side of the house. “That should knock out the system for a few minutes. Let’s go.”

Twelve opened the door before either of them had time to pick the lock. “Stay here.” he said. Vanya and Eleven hid in the shadows. A moment later a voice said, “we’re clear.”

“How did you know we would be here?” asked Eleven.

“I didn’t. But I hoped you would be, thanks to Three.” Twelve replied. “Come on, we have to take down Green Cube or else this will be over before it starts.”

They snuck down the stairs and into the basement.  _ Harlan _ she thought, looking at the cell. She fought every urge in her body to run over there and see whether they had imprisoned him yet. Eleven must have sensed her hesitation. “Come on. We don’t have much time. Green Cube is already rebooting.”

If they didn’t wipe out the main and auxiliary CPUs for Green Cube, everyone would have a problem. Green Cube wasn’t just a monitoring system. It was equipped with a full range of defenses. If it brought itself back online, the Sparrows would barely need to lift a finger. Green Cube would wipe them out. Maybe. She certainly didn’t want to find out. 

Twelve led the way down a series of complicated hallways. This place was a maze. Vanya hoped Twelve knew what he was doing. 

“How deep do these tunnels go?” Eleven hissed. “We don’t have much time.”

Twelve held up a hand. “Here. Green cube is controlled by redundant systems. The first one is in here. The second one is over there. We have to time this just right. If we don’t take them both out at the same time, a defense sequence will be triggered. Only Dad will be able to stop it and I am pretty sure he won’t be helping us.” 

Down the hall there was a clatter. “Shit. It’s coming back up.” 

Several drones were headed down the hallway. “Buy some time and get clear.” Vanya yelled. “I can take them both out at once, but it’s going to be destructive.”

“You’ll bring the ceiling down on you.” yelled Twelve.

“We don’t have a choice. GO!” she yelled.

Eleven and Twelve ran down the hallway. Eleven began zapping the drones. Twelve disappeared, but drones began falling from above.

Vanya concentrated. She felt the energy build inside of her.  _ Come on. This doesn’t control me. I control it. _ She directed the energy through her hands towards the two rooms Twelve had identified.  _ I can do this. I can control this. I have to save Harlan. Come on. Come on. _ The walls tore apart and everything around her disintegrated. She pushed up and out. And then there was darkness.

*********

Lila pushed through the wall with a loud boom. She smiled to herself. She could be subtle when circumstances required, but she would rather go scorched earth. She wondered fleetingly if she should try to unpack that at some point, but she pushed the thought aside just as quickly. 

The dust cleared and she smiled. 

She pulled on Five’s power and felt it surge in her. She looked at him. “You ready?” she asked grinning. 

Five grinned back. “Let’s do this.”

**********

Allison and Lilly ducked behind the shattered wall. A blast of fire flew past them, the heat blasting them as it went past. 

“If I can get close to her, I can neutralize her.” Allison said.

Lilly risked a peek around the wall. Another ball of flame flew past her.

“Shit.” Lilly said. 

Lilly looked for Five or Lila. Either might be able to get them close. But they had disappeared.  _ Double Shit. _

She thought for a moment. 

“Okay, I think I have an idea. I can get us closer. How close do you need to be?” Lilly asked. 

“Close enough to be heard.” said Allison. 

“Okay, this is going to seem a little weird, but just trust me. Allright?”

Allison nodded. 

Lilly disappeared. In her place was a silver fire resistant suit.

Allison stared. “Lilly? Is that you?”

The suit spoke. “It’s probably more awkward if I talk like this.” it said.

Allison stared at the suit another minute. A bright glow lit the night. Eight looked like a giant, burning column. She shrugged. She didn’t have a better idea.

She pulled the suit on and ran towards the fire.

*********

Luther caught a giant planter before it could hit Diego. “On the roof.” He yelled.

“Looks like showtime for us.” Klaus said to Ben. He raised his hands and they began to glow. 

Ben became visible, glowing a bright blue in the dark and tentacles extending from his midsection. He grabbed Klaus, Luther and Diego with tentacles. Then he swung them all on top of the roof.

Six was positioned on the other end of the roof, tentacles waving wildly. 

“Cover Klaus.” Ben yelled to Luther and Diego. He snaked his tentacles out and began grappling with Six. Six used the leverage to pull himself into the air above Ben. Ben tried to wrap one of the tentacles around Six’s neck, but Six swung around behind Ben.  _ Shit.  _ It hadn’t taken him long to realize that Klaus was Ben’s weakness.  _ Of course not. He had his own Four. He would understand how this worked. _

Diego sliced one of the tentacles coming from Six. The severed portion fell to the ground and a dark, sludgy liquid poured out of the injured limb. A sound emanated from Six and he faltered. The creature he had summoned sounded angry.

Luther grabbed onto a passing tentacle. “Diego, toss me a knife!”

Diego threw the knife, lodging it in front of Luther on the tentacle. Luther ripped it out and put the handle in his mouth. He began climbing up the tentacle as it whipped around frantically trying to throw him. 

Ben watched Luther, worried he was about to be flung to the courtyard below. He renewed his efforts, grappling with the remaining tentacles and trying to hold Six down. Six stared at him, hatred burning in his eyes. 

A tentacle snaked around Ben’s leg. It began to lift him. He felt himself phase out, then in again. He looked at Klaus who was grimacing in concentration. 

Luther was getting closer to Six. He reached down and began sawing. The tentacle on to which he clung fell to the ground. Another screech emanated from Ben. This one was louder and angrier. 

Luther fell to the ground, covered in sludge. Six looked like he was struggling to remain in control of the tentacles. They waved frantically. 

Diego ran forward, rushing Six. He slid in the sludge under a waving tentacle and jumped up, sawing at another tentacle. It fell to the ground too, the sludge pouring out slower now. The remaining tentacles went limp. 

Six was pale and sweaty. He cut off the portal, tentacles falling to the ground with a sickening thud. Klaus began to laugh behind Ben. 

Ben turned to look at him and saw a giant creature, glowing bright blue. The tentacles were waving angrily.

“Hey, Six, I don’t think he’s a fan after that.”

Six’s eyes widened.

“Surrender.” Ben yelled. 

Six looked down below and his shoulders slumped. “Yeah, okay.” he said in defeat.

Ben lowered each of them to the ground before someone slipped in sludge and flew off the roof.

*********

Lila and Five phased behind Sparrow Five. Five didn’t hesitate. He barreled into his counterpart. Lila jumped on his back, trying to subdue him. Sparrow Five phased out and she fell to the ground. “Shit.” she said, feeling like an idiot.

She looked at her own counterpart. Ten phased out following Sparrow Five. He had reappeared on the other side of the courtyard. He turned to say something to her. Lila phased over there as well.

“. . . have to listen to me. He is a monster.” Ten was saying. 

Sparrow Five sneered. “I can’t believe they got to you too.” He punched air where Ten had been. He phased again. 

Five phased onto his back. He was yelling something. Lila phased next to Ten. “Where is he? Where would Reginald be?”

Ten started at Lila. Then she disappeared.

********

Allison charged forward, avoiding fireballs. She and Lilly might be able to withstand a direct hit, but she wasn’t eager to find out. In the corner of her eye, she saw a giant, wet tentacle fall into the courtyard.  _ What the hell is that?  _ She thought. But she kept her eyes on Eight. She had to make it close enough to be heard.

“Lilly, can you give me a speaker? Something that will allow me to be heard from further away?” 

Lilly didn’t respond, but she felt the suit get heavier. She was getting closer, but Eight’s full attention was on her. She rolled out of the way of another fireball.

“I heard a rumor that you surrendered.” Allison yelled through her teeth.

The fire in front of her faded. In the crackling light of burning trees and shrubs, Eight dropped to the ground, hands in the air.

***********

Sparrow Five and the Five were still phasing around the courtyard when Ten appeared, her father held in front of her, knife against his neck.

“It’s over, Reginald.” she said, contempt dripping from her voice. “We know. Take off the mask.”

The two Fives stopped phasing. “Ten!” Sparrow Five said. “What are you doing?”

“Go on.” she gritted out of the side of her mouth.

Reginald reached up and removed his monacle and then his mask. “She told me this would happen. Dammit.” 

Ten stared at him. Even though she had been prepared, it was jarring to hear his voice paired with that green face and ridged head. Suddenly he went limp. Before she could grab him, there was a flash of light from the monocle in his hand and he was gone.

************

They stood in the courtyard, the only sound the roaring of fire from the trees blazing around them. 

“We should check on Vanya.” Five said. He phased away.

“What in the actual fuck was that?” Six yelled. “What the hell?”

“Come on.” Klaus said. Let’s go inside.

************

The tunnels had collapsed. “VANYA!” Five called. 

Why did his siblings insist on dying over and over. Couldn’t he go a week without them dying on him? 

He slid down the wall and put his head in his hands. He really didn’t want to break the news to everyone.  _ Maybe I could time travel? Try it again?  _ He thought desperately.

There was a grinding sound and suddenly the rocks lifted into the air. Vanya, Eleven and Twelve walked through the rubble. The rocks fell behind her.

“Vanya!” he said. “Don’t do that to me.” he scolded.

She hugged him tightly. “Is everyone okay?” she asked.

“Everyone is fine.” He looked at Eleven and Twelve. “Everyone. Your siblings as well.” They both slumped in relief. “Come on.” he said.

“Harlan.” she said. She turned to Twelve. “Is Harlan here? Telekinesis?” 

Twelve shook his head. “He isn’t supposed to be here until . . . he looked at his wrist . . . shit. He should be here any minute.” 

Vanya ran up the stairs. The others followed.

***********

Luther carried the sleeping man upstairs. Vanya followed, tears in her eyes. He laid him carefully in an empty room. 

“We will be downstairs. If you need us.” he whispered.

“Thank you.” she whispered. She sat next to Harlan. “I am here now.” she whispered. “You are going to be okay.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was hard to write. I struggle with writing combat, but hopefully it turned out okay. Originally, I planned to have some of the Sparrows die, but I couldn't do it. They are traumatized kids too. Once I brought some of them on board, it made more sense for them to aim for nonlethal resolution. 
> 
> Yes, I made a monocle briefcase. I figured he would have an escape plan always nearby.


	13. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hargreeves siblings from both realities work together to find a way forward (and right some wrongs along the way). Also, a gratuitous Vanya x Sissy pining flashback scene ostensibly for plot reasons and not just because they melt the author's cold, dead heart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: violence, references to abuse and A+ parenting

The Sparrow arm of the family gathered in the living room to compare notes. Three did a lot of talking. There were tears and accusations. A lot of anger from Eight. Klaus got the feeling she would have burned Reginald to ash had she known where to find him.

Klaus’s own siblings ended up abandoning the conversation early and going to bed. There wasn't much for them to do. Any decisions about the future weren't being made tonight and the Sparrows had a lot to work through. Klaus stayed so Three could be heard, feeling rather out of place. 

He watched Three from the corner, sitting on the hard floor, legs folded in front of him. He was proud of the way she stood her ground. She had silently watched her siblings for years and she wasn't going to let them hide now.

"Five Hargreeves, don't you start with me." she said. "Of course this is our responsibility. Just because a manipulative alien sociopath was running the show doesn't mean we get to hide from our role in it."

He knew, intellectually, that she was his age. Still, he couldn't help but feel protective of her.  _ It's too late to protect her. Nothing can hurt her now.  _ He told himself. But he didn't believe that. He thought about all of the ghosts he had known in the past. Their pain had been very real and palpable. He thought about his own pain. Death had not been the end of it. It hadn’t even been the worst part. 

Ben sat beside him and he felt a wave of guilt.  _ Speaking of ghosts who have been hurt by the living. _

"She is really taking them to task, isn’t she? Maybe I should take notes." Ben joked.

Klaus chuckled quietly. Then he sobered. "I would deserve it. Whatever you said to me. I haven't exactly been the best brother to you lately. Well, ever."

Ben looked surprised. "Klaus," he started. Klaus held up a hand. 

"This isn't me throwing myself into another self-pity spiral. Well, not entirely." He sighed. He wasn't articulating this well. "I am a mess. And you have been there for all of it. Thank you."

Ben smiled and laid his head on Klaus's shoulder. "We are all a mess, bro." He paused. "I know I give you a hard time but you scare the shit out of me sometimes. I really am sorry, too. For everything. But especially for letting you think you kept me here. I was scared. I didn't know what was on the other side."

Klaus's heart dropped. "Now that you do know, are you going to go back? It seems pretty amazing."

"Nah. Not yet." Ben said. "There's time for all that later. I think I have more to do. Besides," he chuckled, "now I am invested in all of this." He waved his hand vaguely.

"I'm glad." Klaus said. "Hey, good job today, by the way. You really held your own."

Ben grinned. "It kinda felt good to be back in the game. Thanks for the assist. Phasing me in and out. That was quick thinking."

Klaus smiled. "Hey, I am more than a pretty face."

The discussion was winding down. "We aren't going to resolve this tonight." Twelve was saying. "Let’s sleep on it."

Klaus longed for a drink or three, but he forced himself to bed instead. 

********

Vanya stayed with Harlan. The others offered to relieve her, but she knew that he needed some familiarity. Some routine. She didn't want him to wake up to a stranger's face. She slept on the floor next to his bed. Allison had insisted on bringing some pillows and blankets and Vanya gratefully curled up in them.

Lying on the floor next to Harlan, she couldn't stop the flood of memories. She missed Sissy. She missed their life. 

**Cooper Homestead**

**1963**

"He's down." Sissy said, walking through the screen door. She handed Vanya a beer and sat down next to her, another in her hand. 

Sissy looked tired. Her hair, originally in a neat ponytail, had fallen over the course of the day, strands framing her exhausted face. Still, she was beautiful, with the light streaming out to hit her just so. 

Vanya swallowed.  _ What if I kissed her? Would she lean in? Does she long for me too? _ She pushed the thoughts away with a measure of guilt. Sissy didn't need her to complicate matters further. She settled for placing a hand on Sissy's shoulder. 

"Hey, it was a hard day. We all have hard days sometimes."

Sissy's face scrunched up for a moment. As if she might cry. Then it was gone. Instead she smiled a small, unconvincing smile. "Tomorrow is another day." she said. There was a sing-song quality to her voice, as if she was trying to convince herself most of all. 

"Come here." Vanya said. She wrapped her arm under Sissy's and around her waist. Sissy sighed and leaned against her. With Carl gone for business, Vanya let her mind wander. Imagine what it would be like if it was just the three of them. 

They sat like that for a while. Sipping their beers occasionally and looking at the stars.

Sissy sat up. "Sometimes I worry the trips to the Doctor make him worse. I worry I am messing all of this up." She said it in a rush, blinking back tears.

"Hey." Vanya said. She turned to face her. "It's okay. You are doing the best you can and Harlan knows that. The disruption in routine is hard on him. Maybe we can try to come up with some ideas to help him cope. But you? You are not messing up anything."

"But Carl says . . ." Sissy started. 

"Fuck what Carl says." Vanya said a bit too harshly. "Sorry. Sorry, I just . . . . He isn't here. He doesn't get it." Vanya brushed the hair away from Sissy's face. She fought the urge to kiss away the tears. Instead she brushed them away and forced herself to grab Sissy's hand instead. "You are amazing. And you are doing an amazing job at parenting. You love that boy so much. And he knows it."

Sissy swallowed.  _ And I love you. _ Vanya thought.  _ I love our life together and sometimes I don't even care who I was before because I like who I am with you. _ But Sissy didn't feel the same way, so Vanya reminded herself of the vow she had made in her own heart.  _ I will love you as you want to be loved. And if that is in friendship, that is what it will be.  _

"Sissy, kids don't come with a manual. It's all trial and error and especially with a kid like Harlan who can't tell us what he needs. We will keep trying. Keep working on building a world in which he can thrive. You aren't alone anymore. We will figure this out together."

It was out of her mouth before she realized it. The implication that Carl wasn't here. Not really. It was true, but she expected Sissy to default to her good wife routine. To make excuses for the man who believed that providing financial support was the beginning and end of his vows to her. But she didn't. Not tonight. She squeezed Vanya's hand instead and leaned back on the step to look at the stars.

"I think," she said, a slight smile in her voice, "that you are secretly a princess. A political opponent kidnapped you and sent you to a far away land to get you out of the way."

It was their old game. A comfort on nights like tonight. They traded ridiculous stories about her past. Vanya knew the answer would end up being mundane, if she ever found it. She was probably an average person from a boring family who didn't get along. Nobody was looking for her because she was nothing special. Still, it was fun to make things up with Sissy. She tried to imagine herself in a fluffy princess dress and laughed. "I don't think I could pull the princess look off." 

Sissy smiled at her. "I don't know if it would suit you, but I think you could pull off any look."

Vanya's heart flip-flopped. She told it to shut up. "Maybe I was with the circus." She grinned. A white suit and an audience flashed through her mind but it was gone just as quickly. She dismissed it with a sigh. "Maybe I was an acrobat, soaring above the crowd."

"Maybe you were a clown." said Sissy flatly. Vanya pretended to be offended. "Hey!"

"Maybe" Sissy said conspiratorially, "you are secretly from the stars. An alien."

Vanya grinned. "I have come to steal humans away for my planet." 

A wistful look passed over Sissy's face for a moment. Then she righted herself again. "Ohhh, tell me about your planet." She giggled.

Vanya's heart soared at the sound of Sissy's laugh. "Well, it's definitely got purple oceans." She started.

******

Luther was up first. He couldn’t get comfortable in the tiny twin bed on loan to him, so he had gotten almost no sleep. 

Luther rummaged around in the kitchen and found what he needed to make pancakes. He hadn’t been much for cooking before being sent back in time. Not much call for it on the moon. 

But during his time in the 60s, he had learned out of necessity. His wages weren't enough to eat out for every meal. Not with his appetite. He had been allowed to use the kitchen at the boarding house and he had a small hot plate. Pancakes had been one of his favorite meals because he could make a big batch all once. 

Five came down next.  _ Their _ Five.

"Morning, Five." Luther said cheerily. He put a little extra enthusiasm into it to mess with his brother.

Five grunted at Luther and walked over to the coffee maker. He started the coffee and stood in front of it as if glaring at it could make it brew faster. 

Eleven came down a little later. Five was nearly civilized by that point. Luther had a massive stack of pancakes next to him, and he was pouring more batter onto the pan.

"Woah, I would have invited alternate universe versions of ourselves sooner if I knew there were pancakes." He laughed. "How about I fry up some bacon?"

"Yeah!" Luther said enthusiastically, rubbing his heads together. What do you do? Do you like shock it with your power? Or the pan?" 

Eleven grinned. "I thought I'd just use the other burner." 

Luther laughed at himself. "Right. I was just kidding." Behind them, Five snorted.

The smell of bacon and coffee woke everyone else. Everyone except Vanya who was in a separate part of the house with Harlan. 

Luther had made enough to feed and army. Even with his appetite, there was more than enough.

They settled around the table. "So," Luther asked between bites, "what's next?"

His Five gave him a look. "What?" he asked.

"I think our counterparts are still discussing it." Klaus explained. 

Diego looked around. "What's to discuss? We have to fix the timeline, right? Unless . . . are we going to try for a do over? Because I still think we can save JFK if . . . . "

"Diego!" their Five said. "Let it go man. What is your deal with JFK? Stop! Nevermind, I don’t want to know." 

Five looked around the table. "I get that we are asking to restore our timeline and we don't know what it will do to yours. But we do need to act. Reginald is still out there. The Commission can't make it to this time because . . . ."

"We killed them." The other Five said matter-of-factly. He sighed and looked at his siblings. They seemed to come to an agreement. "Look, we talked about it and I think we have made a decision. We aren't coming along. We know that we don't know what happens to this timeline. Based on my research, I think it likely continues, but we can't know. However, we caused this mess. We have decided to rebuild The Commission."

They nodded. "We have spent our entire lives fighting for Reginald. Who knows how many ways we have helped him move us towards the apocalypse." Eleven said. "We have to make it right. Otherwise, we will be leaving a timeline we destroyed."

"I just wanna kill people. Well, aliens." Eight said. Luther was a little scared of that one. He couldn’t tell if she was joking.

"Let’s talk specifics." the other Five said.

*********

Harlan adjusted surprisingly well to the new place when he awoke. At least the small area Vanya had asked be set aside. She didn't think he was ready for the full Hargreeves experience. Some days she wasn’t ready for it.

Vanya heard a light knock on the door.

Twelve stood outside with breakfast. Vanya's mouth watered when she saw the pancakes. 

"Can I come in?" he asked quietly.

She started to say no, but he added, "I will stay out of the way. Being quiet and patient are sort of my thing. We are restoring your timelime. I don't know if you plan to bring him along or not, but he should have options and that means he needs to have someone other than you."

Her heart lurched and she almost told him to leave, but she nodded instead. He was right. Harlan, this Harlan, wasn’t her little boy anymore. He didn’t need to be babied. She let Twelve in.

********

The next few weeks were a blur. Five and Lilly kept disappearing. Sometimes they dragged Klaus along so they could talk to Grace. But they were working on something else too. "It's nothing. It's just some theoretical stuff." Five would snap.

His counterpart was leading the re-establishment of The Commission. He could still travel to the historical version for now, and he brought his siblings regularly to allow them to trade knowledge. Nobody knew what would happen after the timeline was altered, but the theory was that The Sparrows would be forming their own version and everything would branch forward and backward from there. Nobody had ever traveled between timelines, as far as anyone knew. Certainly, the briefcases would be worthless. They would be on their own.

Eight took to it immediately. She was already recruiting assassins to go after the beings like her father. She really was fairly terrifying. Included in her efforts was a large scale attempt to find more people like them. “Surely there are more of us out there. Who knows what powers they have hidden away.” she said.

Twelve was the least involved. He worked with Harlan. The two had formed an incredible bond. Harlan had started to communicate using his powers. They had worked out an entire system. Vanya hovered like a mother hen, but she knew that her place was somewhere else. Helping keep another Harlan safe. Sissy would not be able to do it alone. Vanya wondered again what had happened to Sissy. She hadn't been to see Harlan at the prison. Whatever it was, Vanya was going to stop it in her time. 

********

A few weeks later, Three stood in an alley and watched as Reginald Hargreeves knocked on a blue door. She phased out and back in a block away in an empty building. 

"Ok, he's there." she whispered to Klaus. Then she phased back to the alley and into the club.

Reginald was heading towards the backroom.  _ No small talk tonight. _ She phased back to Klaus. "Give it one minute." She paced impatiently. "You sure we aren't too far away?" she asked.

"Three, relax." Klaus said.  _ How can he relax at a time like this.  _ She was tempted to phase back over but he held up his hand. 

*******

In the club, Reginald had just walked into the back room. 

"You're late." The man at the head of the table said. 

"Ah. Unpleasant business I'm afraid." Reginald said. Behind him a man appeared with blue tentacles coming from his midsection. "You see, you are not welcome here."

Six grabbed the men and tore them apart with the tentacles. Their blood was a sickening black color. It splattered everywhere, including all over Reginald. Six didn't even give them time to scream. 

"Holy shit, Six." Reginald said. 

He nodded. "I think that should do it."

Reginald flashed slightly and the black blood on his body and clothes were gone. He stepped back into the club. It was deserted other than a bartender. An older woman with blonde hair and tired eyes. 

"Mr. Hargreeves, is there a problem?" she asked.

He didn't respond. Instead he walked to the door and opened it, admitting Klaus, Eight, and the Sparrow Academy version of Five. 

"It's done." Reginald said. He flashed again and phased into a more recognizable form. A nondescript woman with brown hair in a bun.

Eight looked around the room cracking her knuckles. Her eyes settled on the bartender and she smiled coldly. "Ma'am, we have a few questions."

********

The room was dark when Reginald let himself in, save for a single lamp illuminating a blonde with a wry smile. 

"I told you they weren't worth your time." she said coldly. "You were convinced your experiments would bear fruit. That you could create a loyal team. And it took . . . what? Three days to turn them?"

"Oh, like you did any better with those daughters of yours." 

The Handler rose and lit a cigarette. She paced, her deep purple dress swaying with each step. "Oh, they were tools. I never meant for them to be loyal, just to be wielded by me. Your problem was that you cared. Just a little bit."

"Oh, shut up." He said. "Perhaps I just chose the wrong ones again. They are so useful for our purposes. I mean, I barely had to do anything with Eight, so I will definitely keep her . . . ."

The Handler stopped and stared at him. "When are you going to admit your plan is . . . ." She stopped and looked around. She could have sworn she heard something. But the room was just as it had been. Except . . . . was that chair at a different angle? She walked over to it.

"What?" asked Reginald. 

A girl appeared next to him. She grinned. "I heard a rumor you died."

Reginald collapsed in a heap where he stood, black blood dripping from his nose and ears. 

The Handler started to run towards the door when there was a flash of light. Where the chair had stood was teenage Lilly. Except her hands were formed into claws.

"Lilly. Sweetie. Listen . . . ." That was all she got out before she felt claws at her throat. As darkness began to take over her vision she heard, "Tools can be a dangerous thing, Mother. You have to be careful how you wield them or they may be used against you." And then there was nothing.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Vanya/Sissy scene was definitely one of those things I wrote because I couldn’t get it out of my head. I referenced it earlier in the story, but it didn’t work there. I liked it here because it gives us some character motivation for Vanya. 
> 
> If I am being honest and destroying some of the sexiness of the creative process, Luther can cook because he was the most logical after Vanya (who was busy with Harlan). That being said, I ultimately liked the scene. I got to throw in some silliness with Eleven and some part of me sort of loves the visual of him cooking a mountain of pancakes for his family after being so isolated in S2. 
> 
> Was it satisfying to kill Reginald? Why yes, it actually was. I wanted to give Three the kill. She has been quietly watching as he destroyed her whole family and seething for years. Yeah, yeah maybe a vengeance arc isn’t the best message, but it was a satisfying one here for me. I was less excited about taking out The Handler because I just find her to be such a great villain. I mean, she is 100% evil and self-interested, but I think Kate Walsh’s unmitigated joy at playing her makes her fun to watch.
> 
> As always, leave a comment! Thank you to everyone who has left kudos. It is really amazing and humbling that people are enjoying this. 


	14. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hargreeves restore the timeline and find their way home. Klaus works to save Dave. Vanya seeks a place to belong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: reference to character death, some references to homophobia
> 
> A note on Vanya: I struggled with the question of whether I should have Vanya's journey mirror Elliot's. I actually think it would have been fairly satisfying narratively to incorporate a similar coming out for Vanya in the next chapter. However, I didn’t feel like there was enough story left to do it right, so Vanya will remain a she/her in this story. That being said, I want to say how absolutely thrilled I am for Elliot and how inspiring I found their letter. Even when doing something difficult, they advocated for the community.

It was time. The new version of The Commission was ready to go. They were already tracking some potential aliens. But nobody was quite ready to say goodbye.

Three left first. "I feel it." She told Klaus. "The light. It's been there for awhile. Calling to me."

She looked at her siblings. They were scattered in the living room working on various projects. "Do you think they will be okay?" She asked. 

Klaus nodded. "They have each other now. Thanks to you."

Three smiled sadly. "It isn't like they'd be able to see me anyway. Once you are gone."

She had taken her time. Saying goodbye to each of them. 

"Will you tell them we are sorry?" Eleven had asked hesitantly. "I know we don't deserve forgiveness. I don't deserve forgiveness. But . . . ."

"I'll tell them." Three had assured him quietly. 

Ben had hugged her tightly. "I'll miss our nightly chats." He said sadly.

"You sure you don’t want to come along?" Three had asked. 

Ben smiled and looked at his siblings. "Nah. I still have work to do. Have some pie for me."

And then she was gone. 

********

In the end, it was Claire that got them moving. And Dave. And Sissy and Harlan. The ones they had left behind. 

Five, Lilly and Allison left the others behind at The Commission while they restored the timeline. Five had hesitated for a moment.  _ There's nowhere for them to run off to this time. _ He told himself. 

They stopped first to drop Lilly off, now disguised as Grace. "You are sure?" Five had asked again. Guilt bubbled up in him. 

Grace had nodded. "Five, will you stop worrying about me?"

"Fine. That's what I get for trying to be nice." He had snapped. But his tone lacked any real bite.

The real Grace hadn’t taken much convincing. "This is all too weird for me." She had told her doppelganger as she got into a cab. 

Allison and Five went upstairs. The restaurant was still empty. Other than Reginald. 

"Back again?" Reginald had asked. 

Allison walked up to him with purpose and slapped him. The sound reverberated through the room.

"I would kill you myself if it wouldn't fuck up the timeline." She said. "I heard a rumor you forgot about this dinner. You forgot everything you ever knew about me and my siblings."

Five grinned at her. "Come on." He said.

********

The morgue was empty.

Allison shivered. "You couldn't have dropped me off first?"

Five shrugged. "Come on. The sooner we find her, the sooner we can get out of here." 

He scanned the cabinets until he found the one he wanted. He opened it and slid the body out. 

Grace lay on the metal] bed, staring sightlessly at the ceiling, her head partially caved in. 

"Oh my God that's disturbing." Allison said.

The corpse blinked and grinned. "Sorry." It said. There was a flash and suddenly Liam was laying there, grinning up at Five. "Let’s get out of here."

*********

All data showed it had worked, but it was still a relief when they phased into the house and everything was as they had left it. Klaus let out a sigh of relief, but there was still a tightness in his chest.

He looked at Five who nodded. Now that the timeline was restored, there was only one thing left to do.

He could barely breathe. He closed his eyes. To see Dave again. It was all he had wanted and now it was so close. His heart lurched remembering that day. The worst day of his life.

They used a briefcase this time. When they phased in, the world was frozen. Still, Klaus heard the echoes in his head. The gunshots, the screams, the cries. He wanted to run. To grab the briefcase and get as far away as possible. To go find something that would make it all fade away. 

He forced a breath in. He looked around and froze. There in front of him was Dave, mortally wounded. A former version of himself clutched him, face contorted in grief. 

"WHAT THE FUCK, FIVE? WE ARE TOO LATE." Klaus couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He was losing Dave all over again. He heard a wailing sound and realized it was coming from him. He collapsed on the ground.

Five was shaking him. Saying something. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. 

"Trust me, Klaus." Five screamed. Klaus tried to regain control. He tried to breathe.

Liam was walking over to Dave. He leaned over him. Klaus felt a sharp stab of anger. "Don't you touch him!" He yelled. Some part of him whispered he was being irrational but he couldn't hear it over the pounding of his pulse, thundering in his ears. 

Dave sat up and looked around. His chest was bared where his clothes had torn, blood still drenching them. It was unmarred. His perfect chest. 

Klaus swallowed. "Dave." He whispered. "Dave!" He yelled. He scrambled to his feet and ran to him, scooping him up into his arms. 

"Klaus?" Dave asked looking around. He saw the past Klaus, still frozen in grief.

"You saved me after all." He said. He looked at Klaus. "How?"

Klaus opened his mouth to respond.

"Sorry," Five said behind him, "we need to get out of their way. I'm Five."

"Klaus's brother." Dave smiled. "I'm Dave." He looked sheepish. "I guess you probably knew that."

Five laughed. "I did get that memo. Here, give me your dog tags so we can put them on your corpse."

"My . . . ." Dave started.

"We are faking your death here, Dave. Come on." Dave handed over his dog tags and Five tossed them to Liam.

"Ok, let's get going." Five said.

"Wait." Klaus said. He ran to the past version of himself and grabbed the ring and the rock from his pocket. His heart stuttered. He had assumed they fell out. During the battle.  _ Was it always like this?  _ The thought threatened to send him spiraling, so he pushed it aside and ran back to Five and Dave.

Five put a hand on both of the men. The world blinked and they were in the living room.

"Where are we? What happened?" Dave asked.

"We are at our childhood home. You died. In 1968. Or you were supposed to. But we saved you. Brought you forward to the future." Five said.

Dave looked at Klaus. "So the you I just left. He hasn’t done any of it yet, has he? That’s why he didn't recognize me."

Klaus shook his head.

"And we're safe?"

Klaus nodded.

Dave grinned. He stepped forward and cupped Klaus's face. He leaned forward and kissed him. 

Klaus felt his warm solid lips, his hot wet tongue. He wrapped his arms around Dave and pulled him closer. He couldn’t get close enough. It felt like his heart might burst out of his chest.

Dave broke the kiss and pulled back to look at him. "No more stolen kisses in the jungle?"

Klaus shook his head. 

Five cleared his throat. "I, um, expect you have a lot to talk about. But you should know something. Liam used his power to heal you, so there's a chance . . . ."

"He will gain powers too." Klaus said. "Five, what the fuck?"

"There was no other way Klaus. When we ran the scenarios, there was no way to replace him that didn't mess up the timeline."

Klaus looked back at Dave. "Come on, we can worry about that later." He nibbled on Dave's ear, earning a groan. "For now, I can think of a few other things I would like to address."

**********

Klaus led Dave to his room. Well, it was probably more accurate to say dragged. He pushed him through the door and kissed him hard. Desperately. Klaus grabbed Dave's hips and ground his own against them. 

Dave moaned. "Klaus. Fuck. I need you. Please." 

Klaus tore at Dave's uniform. It was wet with blood. His heart stuttered. "Dave." He whispered. 

Dave pulled off the torn clothing. "It's okay. I'm okay." He whispered in response. 

Klaus ran his hands down Dave's bare chest. Down his flat stomach to his pants. He unbuttoned them and pressed his pants and underwear down to the floor. Dave slipped out of his shoes and pants.

Dave moaned. He reached out and grabbed Klaus's hair, pulling his head back and exposing his neck. Klaus felt his hot mouth on his neck. Dave kissed him lightly at first. "That long hair. Do you know how many nights I dreamt about it until you dropped back into my life? How many times I touched myself thinking about running my hands through it?" He began nibbling at Klaus's neck. Sucking and licking. Marking him.

Klaus's cock pressed against his leather pants. He moaned and bucked his hips. 

Dave unbuttoned Klaus’s vest. It fell to the floor. Klaus backed up until he felt the bed behind his knees. He collapsed on the bed, Dave above him. Dave unzipped his pants. Klaus kicked off his shoes and lifted his hips so Dave could slide his pants off. 

Dave kissed Klaus’s ankle and up his leg. Klaus felt his warm lips on his inner thigh. Then his balls. Dave licked the tip if Klaus’s dick and took him in his mouth. Klaus cried out. Dave moved slowly up and down. Klaus moaned. "Dave, I am not sure how much I can take."

Dave looked up at Klaus and grinned. Klaus grabbed him and pulled him up, kissing him deeply. He felt Dave's hardness against his own. He whimpered. 

"Tell me what you want, baby." Klaus said. 

Dave smiled. "I want you to fuck me again. Can we do that?"

Klaus grinned hungrily. "That can be arranged." He rolled them over and reached into the nightstand, pulling out lube and a condom. Klaus kissed Dave's neck, down his chest and stomach. He knelt between his legs. "My turn." He said hungrily, taking Dave's cock into his mouth, tasting the salty pre cum. 

He put some lube on his hands and pressed against Dave's hole. Dave moaned. "Please" he said desperately. Klaus took his time opening Dave up, preparing him. They had only done this once and he wanted it to be good.

"Klaus, you are killing me." Dave groaned. 

Klaus slipped the condom on and squeezed out more lube. He positioned himself over Dave and kissed him. He went slowly, kissing Dave as he eased himself in. 

"Fuck" he moaned as he slid all the way in. He fought to stay still. To give Dave time to adjust. 

"You okay?" Klaus asked. 

"Better than okay." Dave whispered. 

Klaus began to move. To find their rhythm. He reached down with his hand, still slick with lube, and grabbed Dave's hard cock. Dave moaned. "I'm not going to last." He warned.

"Let go, baby." Klaus said. Dave began to pant. Klaus fought to keep himself from going over. 

Dave threw his head back and screamed, hot cum spurting between them. He clenched around Klaus and that was it for him too. His own orgasm tore through him as he emptied himself inside Dave. 

Klaus collapsed on Dave, burying his face in his neck. He didn't even try to hide the tears.

"Hey, I'm here. I'm okay." Dave assured him, wrapping his arms around Klaus.

*********

Later, after they had cleaned up, they laid in the bed, Dave on his back while Klaus curled on his shoulder. Klaus told Dave everything. Well, almost everything. He didn't mention the ring in his pocket on the floor.

Dave confirmed their shared history. There were bound to be a few anomalies. Maybe. But they didn't uncover any. Klaus again wondered if it was possible that the timeline had always been this way. Had he changed things or had things been locked in without him knowing? It was enough to drive you crazy. He decided he didn't actually care. As long as he had Dave. 

"I thought about you every day." Dave said. "And then there you were. But you didn't seem to know me. I figured it was time travel or something. I read a lot of sci fi."

Klaus smiled. "Well, now you are a time traveler yourself."  _ Shit. That was probably insensitive. _ "I'm sorry. I know it's a lot."

Dave sighed. "I didn't have anything to go home to anyway. So, what's this future I have gotten myself into? Are there flying cars?"

Klaus laughed. "Nah. But we do have a network that can be accessed from handheld devices that contains a repository of human knowledge and allows people to connect instantly."

"Woah. So, what, people use it to learn?" Dave asked. 

Klaus laughed. "Nah, mostly they use it for porn and picking fights with each other."

Dave chuckled. "So, things haven't changed that much."

Klaus sat up on his elbow. "They have in one respect. Our relationship isn't illegal or even shocking anymore. We can get married, have kids and live our lives openly. I mean, um, we as in people like us." He said.

Dave stared at him. "Really?" 

Klaus smiled. "Really."

Dave stared at the ceiling, a few tears escaping. "I had resigned myself to the idea that I wouldn't get those things. I thought . . . ."

Klaus took his hand and kissed it, his heart in his throat. "I know." He said quietly. Klaus would give him all those things, if Dave would let him. But it was too soon. Too much. "There are good things and bad things to catch up on. We will navigate it together. I promise."

*********

"You're sure?" Five asked. "I can't give you a briefcase. You will be stuck there until we meet up again."

Vanya nodded. "I have to do this Five. I can't . . . ." She looked away, tears in her eyes.

"Okay. Just remember. Small profile, okay?" 

"I know. I promise." Vanya said.

He phased them in by the water. "I will come back in 6 months. Okay? You have the cash?"

Vanya rolled her eyes. Five tried to act like he didn't care, but he was a big softie sometimes. "It's going to be fine." She said with bravado. 

She gave him a hug. A big bear hug. And then he was gone and she stood in a strange city and a strange time.

She started with the department stores, looking for an elegant blonde. There were plenty of elegant women with perfectly coiffed hair and friendly smiles, but none of them were the right one. 

Days turned into weeks. Sometimes it felt impossible. How do you find someone who doesn't want to be found in a city this size. 

She went to North Beach next. Then The Castro. She worked her way through San Francisco, cycling between hope and frustration.

There was an excitement in the city. An energy. It was a pocket of safety in a hostile world. During the day, she would search for Sissy. But at night she couldn't help but get caught up in the music and the philosophy. 

Vanya had taken to picking up the occasional gig to pay the bills. She would play for meals or rent money. Sometimes, when she couldn't find gigs, she would play in the street or the park, hoping for tips.

Vanya asked everyone she met about a pretty blonde woman with eyes that shone with humor and a smile that lit up the room. 

In the end, Sissy found her. Vanya woke up feeling hopeless. Her brother would be back next week and she would have a decision to make. Stay here and search or go back to her time. Truth be told, she had a life here. Friends. But she missed her siblings. And technically, she didn't belong here.

She stared at the ceiling trying to give herself a pep talk.  _ I can do this. She wouldn't give up on me.  _

She grabbed her violin and headed to the park. It was cool and crisp and sunny. She found a place to sit and began to play. She left the case out for tips, but instead of playing crowd pleasers, she played for herself. Eyes closed, engrossed in the mournful music. 

She lost herself in Tchaikovsky. Her grief and longing palpable in the music. As the last note played, she heard someone clapping. She opened her eyes and felt her breath catch. There in front of her, two faces she saw every night in her dreams. 

She put the violin down and stood slowly. "Hi." She whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Sissy rushed Vanya then, wrapping her in her arms tightly. "What are you doing here? How?"

Vanya smiled. "It's a long story, but the short answer is that I don't want to be anywhere you two aren't."

Vanya pulled away and went to Harlan. "Hi, sweet boy. I have missed you." She hugged him lightly. 

They sat in the park and talked. Vanya told Sissy everything. 

"I don't think we can come home with you, Vanya. I want to be with you, but . . . ."

Vanya shook her head. "I agree. I think we should stay in this time and place. I thought I would stay here. With you. If you will have me."

Sissy pulled her close. "Yes." She whispered, kissing her softly and sweetly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really it for the plot. The rest will be cotton candy fluff and sweetness and smut. Like pure author-fan service. 
> 
> I love the idea of Vanya and Sissy in San Francisco in the 1960s. It was such a dynamic time for music and activism and cultural growth. Can you imagine going from the farm to that era of San Francisco? Amazing. 
> 
> Thanks again for all the kudos and support. 
> 
> Leave a comment! 


	15. I’ve Been Waiting So Long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A check-in with Klaus, Dave and Luther after a time jump. Domestic pillow softness and cotton candy fluff for all, with a dash of mild angst!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: references to abuse, addiction and alcohol and drugs

**Several years later . . .**

Klaus woke reluctantly. He couldn’t justify hitting snooze again, so he rolled out of bed and wrapped himself in a silk robe. He ran his hands over his face.  _ Ugh. Why does morning have to be so early? _ He thought.

He stumbled downstairs. In the kitchen, he could hear Dave talking and laughing while surly voices groaned and mumbled at him. Klaus smiled. It was just his luck that he would fall in love with a morning person. 

He walked in and kissed Dave on the cheek on the way to the coffee maker. “Morning, hon.” Dave chirped at him. “Mmmmm” Klaus responded, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He took a sip. He imagined the caffeine slowly waking up his brain. 

He turned and leaned against the counter, watching the kids shovel food into their mouths, matching grumpy expressions on their faces.

Moon sat in front of him. They were the first kid Klaus and Dave had fostered, then adopted. Klaus still remembered the day Dave called him from the community center, where he worked.

“Klaus,” Dave had said, “you remember how we talked about maybe having kids someday?”

“Yeeees?” Klaus had said slowly.

“Well, we have to apply to become foster parents because I have found us a kid.”

Klaus had been stunned into silence.

“Look, their name is Moon. They are living on the streets after being kicked out by their parents. We can’t just leave them in the hands of strangers. They are only 12.”

“Dave, I don’t even know if I can be a father. I mean, look at my upbringing. I don’t even know what a normal family looks like.” Klaus had argued.

“That’s why you will make such a great dad.” Dave had countered. “Besides, you know what it’s like out there. On the streets.”

Klaus had produced a few more weak objections, but he couldn’t say no to Dave. Not about this. And Dave had been right. After some adjustment, they had become a family and ultimately they had petitioned to adopt Moon. 

Perhaps it had been kismet. Who knows how long they would have danced around the issue otherwise. Klaus had been in pretty bad shape when they got back. He had managed to go through withdrawal and stay sober during the cult years, but the urge to escape into a bottle (or something harder) never really went away. Having Dave back had helped, but he was still plagued by nightmares, and the ghosts could be overwhelming. He had worked through his problems head on, perhaps for the first time in his life. That wasn't to say he didn't still struggle, but Dave had inspired him and supported him, even when he fucked up. Knowing he could make mistakes somehow made him less likely to make them. Certainly less likely to hide them. In recent years, it had gotten easier. Whether it was due to the chaos of their lives or the surge of love he felt looking around the room or just time, he didn't really know. Everyday he made the decision to try to be the man Dave deserved.

Dave, for his part, had also been a mess. You didn't serve that long in that war without paying a price. Drugs had been plentiful. Sometimes standard issue from Uncle Sam himself. Combine that with culture shock and they had both needed to work through some things. 

By the time Dave met Moon, they had it more or less together. Together enough for Klaus to give him the ring. Together enough to marry and start a life together. But sometimes it takes a catalyst to move forward and meeting Moon had been that for them. 

Was it perfect all the time? No. But it WAS good. Great even. Moon was happy, well-adjusted and passionate. Klaus liked to give Dave all the credit, but they would have disagreed. Klaus had understood what Moon had gone through. The trauma and the pain and the fear. 

Next to Moon was Lena. She reminded Klaus of Vanya. So small and petite. She turned to Klaus. “Klaus, don’t forget about this afternoon. Allie and I want to coordinate our looks for Prom and you said you would help.” 

Klaus smiled. “I wouldn’t miss it.” He told Lena, kissing her on the forehead as he walked to the end of the table to pour himself some cereal. Lena’s parents had died when she was fourteen. Her grandmother had refused to accept her into her household unless she “renounced her sinful ways.” Lena’s mother had told Klaus in no uncertain terms that he was going to help her. Klaus smiled at her over Lena’s shoulder. Maria was not someone to be trifled with. But she approved of Klaus and Dave and she had become a member of the household. 

On the other side of the table, June looked up. “Can I come too?” she asked. She wanted to be just like her big sister. She had been only ten when she came to them. For awhile, Klaus had been the one teaching her about make-up and fashion, but Lena had changed the dynamic when she came into the house. Klaus smiled at her. “I think that can be arranged, right Lena?” Lena nodded happily. His heart swelled.

At the end of the table sat Tony. He didn’t look up as he ate. Klaus frowned slightly in concern. Tony was the newest member of their household. He had been kicked from two other foster homes for alcohol and drug use. His social worker had recommended Klaus and Dave because of their experiences. 

Tony had survived fairly extensive abuse. According to Tony, his father had thought his fists would “toughen me up.” It would take time before he was able to let his guard down. Klaus understood that. But it hurt his heart to see him so sad.

“Tony,” Moon said, “do you want to go see a movie after school? Cora and I are supposed to go to that new Charlize Theron thriller. It would be cool if you came along.” 

Tony smiled slightly. “Sure.” he said. Klaus could have hugged them.

"Where's Jerome?" Klaus asked.

"He had that presentation due today. He went in early to practice" Dave reminded him.

"Ohhh. The one with Mike?" Klaus asked.

"Maybe he will finally ask Mike out and stop torturing us with all those sighs and googly eyes." Lena said. 

Klaus snorted under his breath. "Lena, that is his business." Dave said over his shoulder, but Klaus heard the smile in his voice. 

Klaus got up to put his sink in the bowl. Dave was chopping vegetables and putting them into the crockpot. Klaus wrapped his arm around Dave’s waist and kissed him on the cheek. “Whatcha cooking?”

“Vegetable stew.” Dave replied. 

“Mmmmm.” Klaus said as he walked over to the sink to wash his bowl.

Dave sucked in a breath and Klaus turned to see blood pouring from his hand. 

“Shit!” he yelled grabbing a towel from the sink and wrapping Dave’s hand. “You okay?” He knew it was just a cut but he couldn’t breathe. The sight of Dave’s blood was too much. He felt like he was going to throw up. The memory of another day, another time forced its way in.

Dave looked at Klaus in the eyes. “Steady.” He said. “It’s okay. See? It’s okay, Klaus.” He held up his hand which was knitting itself together. 

Klaus took a breath. Then another. Perhaps there would come a day where his brain didn’t immediately go into a panic when Dave bled. Dave, of all people, would be fine thanks to the powers he received from Liam. 

“Sorry.” he said quietly to Dave. Dave pressed his forehead against Klaus’s. “It’s okay. I love you too.” he whispered.

Klaus took the hand that had been bleeding and kissed the ring he had placed on it years ago. A look passed between them.  _ I love you forever. _

Moon scrunched up their nose. “When’s Uncle Luther coming home? I prefer my dinner with a little less gore.”

Klaus laughed. “Sorry, he won’t be home until Saturday, so you are stuck with dinner and a show at least two more days.”

"What just happened?" Tony asked. They hadn't gotten around to telling him about Dave's powers. Or Klaus’s for that matter. 

"Dave is, like, a superhero." June said. "He can heal from anything. Oh, and Klaus talks to dead people."

Tony stared at June and then at them. "What?" He asked. He looked like he was trying to decide if this was some sort of hazing.

"That's enough of that." Dave said cheerily. "We can unpack all of that after you have enriched your minds at school. Come on, I have to get to work and you are going to be late."

They left in a flurry of hugs and kisses and high fives and, being teenagers, a few rolled eyes. Klaus marveled again at this little family they had built. It was exhausting and there were more than a few days that left both of them feeling like they were in over their heads. Still, he felt like the luckiest person on earth. 

He headed upstairs and put on a velvet skirt, leggings and a black top. He covered it all with a long silky robe. He finished the look with some eyeliner and a bit of eye shadow. He examined himself in the mirror.  _ I definitely look mystical and ready to commune with the dead _ .

The dead, or at least some of them, were waiting in the living room for him. "Ready?" He asked.

Ben hopped up off the couch. "To watch you moan and groan like a fool? Always." He grinned at Klaus who grinned back. 

"Asshole." Klaus said affectionately. 

"Moron." Ben fired back sweetly. 

Maria, Ben and the others followed him through the house and into the back entrance to his office. Klaus lit a few candles and some incense for the mood, then he unlocked the front door. 

Through the plate glass he could see the words: 

**Klaus Katz**

**Psychic * Medium * Life Coach**

He smiled and prepared himself for the day, which would comprise of his own special blend of the bullshit and the legitimate. Hey, he helped people. He did. And sometimes he helped the ghosts too.

_ Maybe you should try anyway . . . to help the ones you can. Maybe it will help when you get the ones you can't help.  _ Klaus remembered Dave’s words with a smile. 

He had been right.

A bell jingled and Klaus turned to greet his first client of the day.

**********

Luther let himself into the apartment at the back of the house. When Klaus and Dave had redone the academy a few years ago, they had offered to break it up to allow for any of the siblings who wanted to live there to have their own space. Technically, the house still belonged to all of them together, but everyone had agreed that Klaus and Dave needed it. Nobody else had taken them up on the offer.

Luther liked his apartment. Close enough to spend time with the kids, far enough away to get some alone time. Besides, living there rent free let him sink his savings into his gym. It was a win-win.

He had considered going through the front door, but he was sore. Luther had spent the last week on the moon. He took periodic trips up there to allow some relief from the weight of his body and to reset mentally. Sometimes, he just needed to recharge. 

Luther checked the time. He still had about 15 minutes before he was expected, but he decided to head on over anyway.

“UNCLE LUTHER!” Moon yelled when he walked through the door. They ran up to Luther and gave him a huge hug. 

“How ya been, kiddo?” Luther asked. 

Moon grinned. They clearly had news. “I have a girlfriend. Her name is Natalie.” They said proudly. “And she is ace too, so no pressure.” They smiled excitedly.

“That’s awesome!” Luther said enthusiastically. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Uncle Luther!” a voice said behind him. He turned to see Jerome.

“Jerome!” he said excitedly. “I have missed you." 

Jerome smiled. “You still up for self-defense class? We can just hang out if you'd rather.” Luther recognized the question for what it was. Jerome was being considerate. He knew that it was sometimes hard for Luther to adjust to the gravity. Luther felt a surge of affection for the kid.

“You aren’t getting out of it that easily.” Luther teased, hugging him tightly.

“Where are the others?” he asked. 

“Lena’s outside waiting for us.” he confirmed. “June is on her way. She is upstairs with Dave putting some finishing touches on her cosplay.” Luther smiled at that. Dave had been thrilled when he realized one of the kids was into sci fi too. Luther hadn’t minded himself. His periodic trips to the moon made him fairly cool with June. Maybe he would take her one day. 

Jerome’s face fell. “I don’t think Tony will be joining us.”

“No?” Luther asked. 

“He snuck out last night and got really drunk. Called Klaus at 3 am. He is upstairs paying the price." He made a face and mimed gagging. "Klaus is with him. Taking care of him.”

Luther frowned. “I guess it’s progress that he called Klaus” 

“Yeah.” Jerome said. “He is in for it though. You know Dave and Klaus. They are going to be talking his ear off for hours.”

“Better him than us, right?” Luther teased, clapping Jerome on the back.

************

Later, Luther walked into his gym.  _ My gym. _ He still got a thrill thinking about it. There were people spread throughout the big room. They were punching bags, sparring, doing drills. It felt like home to Luther. 

“Boss!” yelled Nico, one of his trainers. 

“Hey, Nico. How ya been?” Luther replied.

“Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Luther gestured towards his office and raised his eyebrows, as if to ask if they needed privacy.

Nico shook his head. “Nah, not like that. I was just wondering if, with Cora being on light duty for a few months, we might be looking to hire a new trainer. My cousin, Joey, is looking for a job and I just thought . . . .”

“Yeah.” Luther said. “Bring him in.” 

“Thanks, man! And welcome back! Oh, are you still in for tonight?” Nico said.

“You bet.” said Luther.

Luther grinned and headed to his office. It was still a weird feeling, being the boss. 

He thought back to his fighting days as he watched a prospect. Diego had set him up with some of his contacts when they had gotten back. He had made a name for himself, made some money 

It had been different from his fights in the ‘60s. The fights hadn’t been crooked. Not even slightly bent. Also, his family had been around. They had come to cheer him on. Especially Diego and Lila. They had been his biggest fans. He smiled at the memory of Lila screaming at him to “TEAR HIS HEAD OFF AND SHOVE IT DOWN HIS THROAT.” She was a keeper.

Eventually, he had retired. The grind was too much on his body. But he had put away enough to start this gym. He still stepped in to train some of the more promising prospects. 

He looked out over the gym through the window in his office. He wondered briefly what his father would think. Would he have been impressed that Luther was a businessman? He caught himself. It didn’t matter. His father was an asshole. His family was proud of him. And he was proud of himself.

Tonight he would go home and cook dinner with his brother’s kids. He would hear about their days and tell them about his trip to the moon. Then he would meet up with Nico to watch some of their prospects fight. Maybe grab a drink after. It wasn’t anything special, but it was his.

The phone rang.  _ Time to get back to work. _ He wouldn’t have it any other way.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t technically it for these characters, as I plan on some final scenes in the last chapter, but this was the big update for them. 
> 
> Why yes, I did make Dave and Klaus queer immortal dads and I won’t apologize. Heh. I love love love the idea that Dave and Klaus would work together to fight their own traumas and ultimately find themselves in a place to help other kids facing the same. I have seen people feel diametrically opposite ways about Klaus as a dad. For my part, I think those who have survived trauma and who struggle with addiction can be really great parents because they have a totally different perspective. But obviously not always. I particularly like the idea of them adopting older, LGBTQIA+ youth. They are sort of the opposite of Reginald Hargreeves in the best way, aren’t they? 
> 
> I am a big fan of the theory that Luther is ace, and I tried to incorporate that. I had planned to address it more expressly, but the scenes I had weren't working. I didn't want it to be a huge deal. It's who he is and he worked through it years ago. The scenes I planned to incorporate ended up clunky, so the confirmation is more subtle. 
> 
> I really like the idea that Luther’s happy ending is one of family, friendship and purpose. He found a place he fits. Isn’t that what we all want?


	16. To Be Where I'm Going

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A check-in with Five and Allison after the time jump. Some cutesy fluff and a lot of feels. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Five romance/flirting but he is aged up and it's not graphic in any way, references to character death, references to racism
> 
> I am so sorry. This one hits in the feels. Please don't hate me.

The diner was pretty dead when Five walked in. To be fair, it was 3:00 in the afternoon. 

The only other patron was a tired looking man in a booth along the wall. Five walked over to the counter and sat, placing his backpack by his feet. 

"Be right with you, hon." said a tired looking woman.

Five was exhausted. Grad school was wearing him down and he had pulled an all-nighter the night before. He heard the door open but he didn't turn around. He only had eyes for the coffee pot.

"Damn, I wish someone would look at me like you look at coffee." A voice behind him teased. 

Five jumped. He swiveled to find Lee, his classmate. Lee had been a source of distraction all semester in Advanced Statistical Mechanics. He was cute, in a nerdy way. His hair was always a bit out of place and his brown eyes shined with humor. He sat next to Five and it had been all he could do to pay attention, much to his dismay. Especially when Lee started speaking up in class. He was brilliant. 

It was a new and uncomfortable experience for Five. Usually, he felt approximately 200 years old surrounded by kids in their 20s. He had never had anything in common with any of them. Certainly, he had never been  _ attracted _ to them. 

Being caught in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and then being a 60-something year old man stuck in a much younger body made dating complicated. Well, more like non-existent. He tried to tell himself that there were plenty of examples of older people dating people in their mid-20s and that eventually it would not be weird, but he couldn’t quite get there. He had given up on the idea of finding romance long ago. 

But he did like Lee. He was smart and funny. He seemed to be taking school seriously. Five always enjoyed talking to him before and after class, but he had never spent time with him outside of school. It just made him feel too predatory.

Lee grinned at him. "Hello, Five. Buy you a coffee?”

Five nodded. There wasn’t really a way to say no that wouldn’t be rude.  _ Sorry, I would love to but I am actually an old man. I just look like I am in my 20s.  _ Yeah, that would go over well. He would just stick to safe topics like school and holiday plans. It might be nice to talk to someone. He had been singularly focused over the last few years on school and, given the age disparity with his peers, he didn’t have many friends. Well, none unless you counted his siblings.

Lee gestured to the waitress. She brought them two cups and filled them. Five took a sip and sighed.

“That final was a bitch. How do you think you did?" He slid onto the stool next to Five. 

"It was tough. I think I did okay though. That second question . . ." He stopped.  _ Five. Did he just call me Five?  _

Everyone at school knew Five as Jack. It was easier that way. Otherwise, he constantly had conversations where he repeated his name.  _ Yes Five. No FIVE. F-I-V-E. Like the number. Yes, it is an unusual name. High five? Ha ha, I haven’t heard that joke before. _

Five stared at Lee.

"Work it out yet?" He asked. 

No, he hadn’t worked it out. He thought. He knew faces. Remembered faces. And he had never seen this one before the day he walked into class a couple of months ago. How could this complete stranger recognize him?  _ Oh.  _

"So you retired after all, huh? Decided to settle into a body?"

Lee grinned. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Five asked. 

"Honestly? It felt a little stalkery.  _ Hey, Five. Remember me? I heard you were in school and it sounded like so much fun I followed you. _ "

Five fought a smile. "Is that what happened?"

"No." Lee laughed. "Well, mostly no. I told Lila that I wanted to retire. The Commission is doing fine and didn't really need me. And I was tired of being the tool that The Handler created. My sister recommended school while I figured out what's next. So, I decided to be someone else. Start over. New body. New name. New me." He gestured generally at himself.

“I like it.” Five said.

Lee smiled. “Anyway, I decided she was right. I enrolled in school. I wanted to be near my sister, so moving here was the obvious choice.”

Five nodded. “Wait.” he said. “Wait a minute. Your sister. So does that mean you have seen Diego and he knew that you were in school with me? I am going to kill him.”

He looked a bit sheepish. “I may have asked him not to mention it to you. I didn’t want to look like I was stealing your thing. Or following you.”

Five laughed. “So instead you just let me feel like a complete creep?”

“Why would you feel like a creep?” Lee asked. 

_ Shit. _ He had said too much. Five felt warmth move up his neck and onto his face. “No reason.” He said quickly.

Lee looked at him, recognition dawning on his face. “Oh.” he said. He smiled shyly.

Wow, they were both terrible at this. Lee probably had the same amount of dating experience as Five. He had been raised to infiltrate. To serve as a spy. He wouldn’t have had a normal life either. And he was around Five’s age. At least he had been the last time they had met. So he probably knew exactly what Five was going through.

“I’m sorry. I probably should have told you.” Lee said. 

“I get it. Out of curiosity, why are you telling me now?” Five asked.

“Well, class is over so I figured it wouldn’t be as awkward. Besides, I will be there tomorrow.” Lee explained.

“Of course.” Five said. He felt slightly disappointed. Lee was telling him because he was going to find out anyway. Nothing more. 

“I also thought maybe we could . . . go on a date sometime.” he said. His voice raised at the end of the statement making it a question.

Five felt warmth spread through him. He smiled. “I’d like that.”

****************

It was Allison’s favorite day of the semester. The lecture was always a tough one, personally, because it always transported her back. To her friends. And to Ray. 

“What do Raymond Chestnut’s published journals tell us about the strategies employed by the activists of the time?” Allison posed to the class. She nodded to a woman in the front. “Emily?”

“The intended audience wasn’t the people in the restaurant?” The young woman ventured. Allison gestured to encourage her. “The protesters knew that they would be scrutinized, so they were strategic and intentional to make sure that their message wasn't muddled by conflict, if possible."

“Excellent.” Allison said. She clicked her laptop and a picture popped up on the screen. She stared at them fondly. “This is a photo from one of the sit-ins from 1963. As Emily noted, the protesters are very aware that everything they do will be scrutinized. The police are looking for any excuse to arrest them and any public support will turn the moment they react in any way. They sat for hours like this. You can see the crowd physically making contact behind them. They were scalded, had things thrown at them or poured on their heads. In his journal, Raymond Chestnut discusses the ways he prepared participants and the way they were selected. From a strategic perspective, it was critical that participants would be able to withstand the abuse that would be heaped on them. He talks a lot about honor and dignity. We see it is more than a strategy for him, it is an overarching philosophy."

She launched into her lecture in earnest, analyzing the strategies that she herself had helped shape and discussing both their current use in modern advocacy and ways they could be more efficiently employed. She had literally written the book on the topic as well as several published articles. Seemingly overnight, she had gone from a famous actress to a serious advocate and well-respected leader the modern fight for equity and justice. 

She changed slides and a picture of her husband appeared. No matter how many times she gave this lecture, his handsome face never failed to make her catch her breath just a little. 

She turned to see one of the students had his hands raised. "Shawn, did you have a question?"

"Professor Hargreeves, what are your thoughts on the letter?"

Allison smiled. "Ah yes, the letter. For those of you who missed it in the reading, or who didn't do the reading and are faking it, . . ." she gave them a severe look but then smiled to show she wasn't that concerned. Their final papers were due Friday, so she intentionally planned a day that was light on discussion and heavy on lecture. "Raymond Chestnut’s journals have notes throughout them to an unnamed romantic partner. The historical record doesn't reveal the identity of this person and by the time the journal was published-it was held by his attorney for many years at his instruction to protect the identities of certain people named-nobody who could shed light on the subject was around. Or they weren't talking."

She walked to the other side of her desk. "The journals also contain a letter to his partner. Unlike the remainder of the journals, which contain information for his future audience, the letter is deeply personal and romantic. It is therefore unsurprising that it has captured the imagination of historians and students alike. Who was Raymond Chestnut’s love? And why did he choose to include the letter in journals that would not be published until years after his death? Possibly years after the intended recipient's death?"

She smiled. "The theories are highly varied. Some say it was a man. If Raymond Chestnut was gay and someone who sought to damage the cause found out, it could have been devastating. Other theories are that it was a married woman. Or a white woman. One particularly creative historian proposed that he was in love with a time traveler." 

The class laughed and she smiled. "For my part, I don’t think it's that complicated. I think the answer is simply that the historical record is incomplete. There was a courthouse fire in the county in 1967 and many records were destroyed. My guess is that Raymond Chestnut was married and that his wife died in the early years of the movement, before much was known about him. The remainder of the journals show a deep commitment to the cause. I don't believe he would have risked including these notes and the letter in the journals if the truth would have undermined his work. My guess is that his marriage certificate and her death certificate burned along with other vital records." She didn't add that she knew the marriage certificate had, because she had been there. The Commission had insisted that certain vital records be destroyed. She had watched the courthouse burn and then she had gone home to throw herself a full-fledged pity party complete with vodka and ice cream.

She walked over to her materials and thumbed through them until she got to the reprint of the letter. She read the letter. More accurately, she pretended to read the letter as if she hadn't committed it to memory years ago. 

_ My Love, _

_ Today I was reminded that everything has its season. Everything has its time. A beginning and an end. Some days I feel angry at Time for separating us. But then I remember that she brought us together too.  _

_ Not a day goes by that I don't think of you and wish you were in my arms. I wish we had more time. Of course I wish we had more time. But I cannot bring myself to regret even one moment. Every day, despite your absence, I think I am still the luckiest man alive. Lucky to have loved you. Lucky to hold my memories of you close in my heart.  _

_ It is for you I fight. And I know, wherever you are, you will fight too. For a better world. With honor and dignity. For love.  _

_ One day, when we meet again, and I know in my heart we will meet again when our fight is through and it is time to rest, I will hold my head high and say to you that I fought for justice. That I made the world a better place for you.  _

_ In the meantime, know that I love you. I will always love you, my fierce, brave warrior.  _

_ Yours always, _

_ Ray  _

A quiet awe had settled over the class. Allison looked around, giving it a beat, watching Ray's words sink in.

Then she smiled. "Whoever Raymond Chestnut loved was very lucky. Now, back to the subject of his work."

She continued the lecture. At the end of the hour she reminded the students to turn in their papers and fill out their evaluations. She thought with bemusement about the comment she got last semester: "Professor Hargreeves really brings history alive. It's almost like she was there."

She walked back to her office soaking up the California sun. She would be wearing a coat tomorrow. May as well get the benefit of the weather while she could. She let herself into her office. A teenage girl sat at a table in the corner.

"Hey, Claire. How long ago did your father drop you off." She kissed her daughter on the forehead earning her an eye roll.

"About 15 minutes ago. He had to get to lunch with  _ her. _ "  _ Her _ was Patrick's newest girlfriend. She wasn't much older than Claire.  _ Such a cliche. How did I ever think he was the one? _ Allison thought.

In the interest of good co-parenting, she kept that thought to herself. "Oh, she isn't that bad."

"Better than the last one at least." Claire said. 

Allison grabbed her laptop bag. "Come on, we have to pick up the boys on the way to the airport."

They drove to the daycare and the teacher brought out the twins. They were thrilled to see their sister. Claire took Ray's hand on one side and Ben’s on the other. 

Allison watched them, smiling. She had second guessed herself over and over after she decided to become a mother again. Would the age difference be too much? Was she crazy to take on single motherhood? With each step, each injection, she had worried she wasn't making the right decision. 

But Claire and the boys adored each other. Claire doted on them and they idolized her. 

They loaded up the car. Allison checked to make sure she had all the bags, but especially the one packed with toddler entertainment. She felt a flash of annoyance. It would be so much easier to have Five transport them. But she had agreed that Claire would not be exposed to their powers. It was part of the custody arrangement. So off to the airport they went. 

She looked at Claire in the rearview mirror making faces and heard the boys giggling. She thought of Ray, fighting to make the world better for them and other kids like them.

_ Me too baby. I will fight for justice every day until I can rest with you. I love you, too. Always. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny because when I came up with Lee, I didn't actually intend for him to be a love interest for Five. He was largely conceived for plot reasons (I needed a shapeshifter) and because I wanted to give The Handler a different kid in the new timeline so we could have a Sparrow Lila. But when I introduced him, I realized that it was actually an opportunity as well to write a character that would be a potential love interest for the old man trapped in a child's body that is Five. I could give him a similar story. I am actually pretty happy with where it ended up. You still have both of them dating someone who appears physically significantly younger, but they are physically in their mid-20s (I cheated 5 up a bit, I think, age wise, when it comes to canon). 
> 
> I am not a person who thinks a relationship is the only happy ending (see Allison), but Five with his lonely heart carrying around a mannequin? Five who devotes himself to saving his siblings? There is a lonely romantic in there underneath the sarcasm and coffee. I wanted to give him a love story, or the beginning of one.
> 
> Also, I considered having Lee be Dolores to spy on Five and falling in love with him, but the timelines didn't match up. Feel free to head canon away though just because, if you are so inclined.
> 
> Allison and Ray. I wanted any excuse possible to let them live a long and happy life together. I LOVE that man and I love them together. Trust me. I rewrote this in my head for ages. But I couldn't make it work. I just can't see a world in which Ray abandons the fight for love. And I can’t see Allison giving up on Claire or taking her to a time that would be objectively worse for her (and away from her Dad). Also, Ray is important. His life has an impact. An impact that made Allison's life better even before they met (swoon). He can't be taken out of history. He has too many fixed points in time, as they say in Doctor Who. For what it’s worth, he's right that they will be reunited in the afterlife in my head.
> 
> So, I instead wrote Allison to carry on the fight. To be forever changed by her years with Ray and the others. There is work left to do. I also loved the idea of Allison the academic. The shift from star to professor practically overnight from the world's perspective. Imagine that story. I love it. 
> 
> And then there are the twins. The renewal of hope for the future. The sweetness of her family together. Well, I hope you liked it as much as I did, conceptually. 


	17. In the Sunshine of Your Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the time jump, Vanya, Sissy and Harlan enjoy a lazy morning. Diego and Lila enjoy date night. The penultimate chapter, which is entirely comprised of domestic fluff, Vanya x Sissy smut, and pure author fan service.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Vanya/Sissy smut, violence, references to attempted sexual assault
> 
> As a reminder, I decided there wasn’t enough story left to adequately explore Vanya as a trans character and we don’t know whether that storyline will actually happen. It is very possible that Elliot continues to play her as a cis woman. Nonetheless, I want to re-urge my support of Elliot, who I admire greatly. Their tireless work advocating for the community is an inspiration. 
> 
> Sorry for any typos. I have been averaging 4 hours of sleep per night.

Vanya woke slowly. The sunlight was streaming in through the window, lighting Sissy with a golden glow. She smiled hazily. Sissy was asleep on her back, arm splayed out under Vanya, who was curled up at her side. Vanya glanced at the clock. It was early. Early enough that she could just lie here for awhile and enjoy the sensation of Sissy’s warm body pressed up against hers.

It had been years since their reunion and still it felt like a dream sometimes. Vanya had spent so much of her life thinking she was unloveable. The ordinary one. The boring one. She had dreamed of being like her siblings. Believed that she would be loved if only she was special too. 

And then Sissy had shown her that it didn’t actually work that way. Her powers didn’t matter. They didn’t make her special. In fact, they had almost driven her and Sissy apart.

Sissy had fallen in love with Vanya. Just Vanya. Her love was what made Vanya feel extraordinary. 

In the intervening years, they had built a quiet life together. “Keep it small, Vanya. The timeline can adjust to small changes.” Five had told her. So far it had.

Vanya nuzzled into Sissy’s neck. “Mmmmm.” she mumbled tiredly. They didn’t have anywhere to be for hours. Vanya tutored students and taught music lessons. It let her set her own schedule and gave her flexibility to be there when Harlan needed her. With the start of winter break, she didn’t have anything scheduled. 

Sissy worked at a local bookstore and coffee shop. The shop served as a meeting spot for local activists. It had been amazing to watch Sissy over the last few years. She had so much to say and once she had gotten herself out from under the weight of the expectations placed upon her, she had flourished. Like Vanya, she had carved out some time for winter break. She didn’t have to go in today either. 

Vanya kissed down Sissy’s jawline. She felt Sissy smile. “Mornin’.” she mumbled.

Vanya ran her hand up Sissy’s arm and through her hair. “Morning, sweetheart.” 

“What time is it?” Sissy asked.

“Early.” Vanya said. She began kissing Sissy’s neck.

“Ohhh.” Sissy said. “I like early.”

Vanya ran her hand down Sissy’s arm again and under her shirt, feeling goosebumps form on her soft skin. “I really like early.” Sissy said. She rolled over to face Vanya, hooking her leg around Vanya’s. They moved together. 

Vanya looked up and kissed her, heat pooling in the bottom of her stomach.

She pushed Sissy back onto her back and got on top of her, their legs interlaced. “Let me show you just how good early can be.” Vanya said, grinning. 

She pulled off Sissy’s nightgown. She was so beautiful. Vanya buried her face in one of Sissy’s breasts, taking a nipple into her mouth and feeling it harden and pebble. Sissy groaned and moved, trying to find some relief against Vanya’s thigh. Vanya grinned and moved on to the other one, nibbling just a bit like Sissy liked. She ground into Sissy hard and both of them moaned. 

Sissy began clawing at Vanya’s shirt. She sat up and pulled it off. She pressed their naked chests together as she kissed Sissy deeply, her hands finding Sissy’s breasts, rubbing her nipples. Sissy ran her fingers through Vanya’s hair and pulled, exposing her neck. She bit playfully then kissed deeply. “Fuck!” Vanya groaned.

She pulled back and began kissing slowly down Sissy’s chest, stopping again at each nipple. She hooked her fingers through Sissy’s panties and peeled them off, exposing her sex. Vanya felt herself clench in anticipation and need.

She kissed down Sissy’ lower belly, taking her time. “Vanya” Sissy said. It sounded like a plea.

Vanya tortured her just a little bit longer, kissing slowly up Sissy’s sensitive inner thighs. Finally, she tasted Sissy, mouth closing on the sensitive bud between her legs. Vanya pressed a finger into Sissy, then another. She was wet and ready. She began to wiggle, trying to get Vanya to move faster. To give her relief. 

Vanya smiled against her. She decided to take pity on Sissy. She found the rhythm Sissy loved best. Sissy began to whimper. “Vanya, oh Vanya please please please.” Sissy moaned. Vanya began to move faster. She wanted to hear Sissy come apart underneath her.

Sissy was moaning now, all semblance of words lost to her arousal. She felt Sissy clench around her and then she came apart, shuddering beneath Vanya. Vanya kept going until Sissy squirmed. “Fuck, Vanya. Get up here. I want to make you feel this good.”

Vanya slipped off her pajama bottoms and underwear. She was ready. Very ready. She could feel the wetness between her legs.

She straddled Sissy and began kissing her, Sissy’s taste still on her mouth. Sissy was greedily kissing her. Vanya felt her hands slowly moving down her stomach. She was so wet that Sissy’s fingers slid right into her. 

“Mmmmm” moaned Vanya. She began to move against Sissy’s fingers. She was close. So close. Sissy hooked her thumb up to rub Vanya’s clit. Shocks of pleasure ran through Vanya everytime she moved. With her other hand, Sissy steadied Vanya’s hip. 

Sissy slid another finger into Vanya and that was all she had. She screamed against Sissy’s mouth as pleasure overcame her.

*********

After, they snuggled close and went back to sleep. It was, after all, early. A few hours later, at a far more decent time, Vanya awoke as Sissy pulled away and got out of bed. 

They headed downstairs to find Harlan at the kitchen table. He was focused on a small electronics board on the table, component parts spread in front of him. A plate with crumbs and an empty glass sat next to him. 

“Good morning, Harlan.” Vanya said, kissing his head. 

He looked up and smiled slightly. “Morning.” he said. Then he re-focused his attention on the Board. Harlan had increased his vocabulary substantially in recent years through a combination of modern therapy techniques and a lot of work on everyone’s part. He still used sign language and his powers to communicate, but he was slowly expanding into verbal cues as well.

Vanya felt fortunate that she and Sissy had found a school that was willing to work with them. Some part of her had worried that keeping him in his time would mean he didn’t have access to the same tools and treatment, but they had managed to combine the best of both worlds. Harlan wasn’t forced into a new world with loads of change, they were safer, and they were able to cobble together a pretty effective plan to support Harlan. 

Vanay watched Harlan for signs of frustration or fatigue. Sometimes he could get overwhelmed when using his powers. It was pretty incredible to watch the precision with which he worked. Vanya didn’t think she would ever have the control that Harlan did. Perhaps that had something to do with the way he was built, the way he thought. Or perhaps it was just that he applied the same level of care and hard work to mastering his powers as he did to mastering the other skills they worked on. She felt a surge of pride. He really was an amazing kid.

Sissy walked up behind Vanya with a cup of coffee. She wrapped her arms around Vanya and kissed her on the cheek. “Stop worrying over him, Vanya.” she whispered. 

Vanya turned her head and smiled, giving Sissy a peck on the lips. “Hey, I promised to take care of both of you. It’s what I do.”

***********

They were packed and ready to go by the time the knock came on the door. “Ready?” asked Five as he barrelled inside.

“Nice to see you too, Five.” Vanya teased. 

Five stopped and smiled. “Sorry. Hey, Vanya.” He gave her a hug. Then in a softer tone, “Hey, Harlan. Sissy.”

Sissy smiled and hugged Five as well. “I think we have everything. Wait . . . .” She ran to her room to grab the book Dave lent her the last time they had visited. The publication date, more than 50 years in the future, would have caused quite a stir at the bookstore.

“Ready.” she smiled.

***************

“SHIT, he’s turning up the alley.” yelled Diego. He skidded to the right as he turned to run between the two buildings. 

“STOP, OR I CANNOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY INJURIES THAT YOU MAY INCUR.” Diego yelled. It came out ragged. He had been chasing this guy for several blocks.  _ Shit, I gotta up my cardio. _ He thought.

In front of him, the perp was almost to the end of the alley. “Lila,” he breathed heavily as he spoke into his mic, “come in.”

A dark shadow dropped from the fire escape at the end of the alley onto the perp, who let out an “ooomph,” as he collapsed onto the ground. Diego heard the sound of fists hitting skin and grunting. 

He walked the rest of the way. “You gonna help me?” Lila grinned at him.

Diego shrugged. “You seem to have it under control.”

He pulled out zip ties so that she could secure his hands and feet. She gave him one final kick. “Maybe next time, you will remember that no means no, you piece of shit.” she spit at him.

They had caught the man assaulting a woman. Stopped it before anything too terrible had happened. Still, he knew from talking to victims that the incident would haunt her. He hoped this encounter would haunt the perp in turn. 

A siren wailed in the distance. “We’d better go.” Diego said. He pulled out one of their custom flares and lit it, throwing it at the end of the alley so that it would be visible to passing pedestrians and cars. They had learned the hard way after a couple of perps had gotten away before the police found them. 

Lila ran up next to him, and he used his custom grappling hook to bring them up to the roof, guiding it with his power. Five had mocked him mercilessly when he got the hook made, but Diego knew he secretly admired it. Who wouldn’t? He was like a real life Batman. And Lila was his Robin. Wait, that was weird. Also, she would probably punch him if he called her a sidekick.  _ Focus, Diego.  _

He and Lila jumped to an adjacent building and made their way down the fire escape. It was a shame that they couldn’t be there to see the guy get taken in. The police weren’t fond of them. To them they were “vigilantes” and “a menace” and “a pain in the ass.” 

Diego didn’t really care. The streets were safer because of them. And unlike his early days, he wasn’t alone anymore. He was a lucky man. He had a partner to watch his back. And his front.

“Babe, the way you took that guy down was hot.” Diego said to Lila. She grinned and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a kiss. 

“Maybe I will show off some of my moves when we get home.” she said. Definitely lucky.

**********

They stopped at their favorite diner on the way home. Neither Lila nor Diego was particularly domestic, and they tended to keep cooking to a minimum. They had averted a robbery in this restaurant years earlier. The owner, perpetually grateful for their intervention, always welcomed them warmly.

“If it isn’t my two favorite crimefighters.” he said. He gestured to their favorite booth. “Best seat in the house for you two.”

Lila grinned. She looked slightly feral. She was still coming down off the high of taking down that guy earlier. “Thanks, Gene.” she said. 

They didn’t bother with menus, ordering from memory. 

“So, you ready for a vacation?” Lila asked.

“Maybe we should patrol. Just a few times.” Diego said. He lowered his voice. “Justice waits for no man.” 

Lila squeezed his hand. “We won’t be far if something goes down. I will bring the handcuffs. Just in case.” 

“I am sure we can put them to good use, even if there isn’t an emergency.” He replied. 

They hadn’t had time off in months. They didn’t need to work a normal job. Lila had raided The Handler’s accounts as her “sole heir” and split the proceeds with Lee.  _ Shit. She is the one with a fortune from her dead parent. Maybe Lila is Batman. Does that make me Robin? _

He shook off the thought. They were a team. A good one. 

“Maybe we should test them out now. Just to make sure they are in good, working order.”

They got their food to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Sissy and Vanya as a couple, living a quiet normal life. I love the journey from Vanya yearning to be extraordinary, to Vanya being entirely content in an apparently ordinary life. I wanted to blend the modern and the historic for them. To have them find a place in history that worked for them. I also wanted to give Harlan a storyline that incorporated his autism and his powers without erasing either. I did have him develop verbally but I wanted to be realistic that not all non-verbal kids become verbal and many rely on multiple forms of communication. I also wanted to stress that it was okay for him to be exactly as he is, and to acknowledge that any new skills he picked up were a result of his own efforts. I know it can be frustrating to see ableist takes where autism is either entirely erased or is presented as something to overcome. I hope I got it right. If I fucked it up in any way, please comment. 
> 
> Diego and Lila were harder for me to envision. What does their happy ending look like? I don’t think it is domestic like Vanya and Sissy. I didn’t want to go the route of domestic bliss and babies for them. I think it would be perfectly valid and on brand for them to decide to be the cool Aunt/Uncle. I also love the idea of them as a crime fighting duo. In some ways, it’s a return to what Diego was doing before and in other ways it is something entirely different. I hope you liked it. 
> 
> Final chapter should be up next week, barring too much craziness! It will feature everyone. Thank you again for all the kudos. It means so much to me to know people are reading this and enjoying it. Leave a comment and feel free to reach out to me on Tumblr under the same name. 
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/doctorprofessorsong


	18. The Middle of Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter. The Hargreeves family gathers for a winter holiday celebration. We get a bit of everyone. It's all soft, happy and indulgent, with some humor and sibling moments. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a pretty soft chapter, so I don’t have much in the way of CWs. Just some references to addiction and a lot of food.

Five phased into the entryway of the house with Vanya, Sissy and Harlan at his side. His mouth watered at the smells coming from the kitchen.

Five smiled looking around the house. Klaus had gone overboard. Possibly beyond overboard off into the deep end. There were lights and candles and garlands and decorations everywhere.

Klaus must have heard them, because he came bounding down the stairs. Five felt a surge of love for his ridiculous brother. Oh, he would never tell  _ him _ that, but he let himself grin at the man who was greeting them like a puppy. 

"Vanny!" Klaus said, wrapping her up in a big hug. His decorating efforts hadn't ended with the house. 

He wore a blue dress with a repeating pattern of menorahs and the Star of David. Underneath he wore silver leggings with snowflakes. He also wore a headband featuring green tinsel and ornaments. He would have looked confused anywhere other than his home, which featured a mish mash of Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas and Kwanzaa decorations. 

Klaus hopped from Vanya to Five and then to Sissy and Harlan greeting each of them with warmth and enthusiasm. 

They wandered into the living room. There was a large tree covered with Christmas and Pagan ornaments and brightly colored lights. At the top of the tree was a giant sun. Every surface had decorations. There was a large Menorah and a Kinara. There were bowls of fruit and nuts, garlands, nutcrackers, tinsel, and a pile of gelt next to several dreidels. 

"Went understated again on the decorations, I see." Five teased him. There was no bite in it.

"Yeah, well, Dave said I had free rein of the house as long as I didn't help in the kitchen. Like the grease fire was my fault! But we do make this look good." He said, gesturing around the house and at himself.

Five had to admit he was right. While objectively tacky, the home evidenced an exuberance and joy that was a sharp contrast to the house in which they grew up.

Reginald had refused to allow even the smallest of celebrations in December. Luther had broached the subject when they were young and Reginald had brought them all downstairs to stand in a straight line while he had lectured against sentimentality and religion. "There is nothing up there beyond sky." He had said harshly.  _ Oh, file that in Things that Hit Differently now that I Know Dad was an Alien,  _ Five thought. In fact, Reginald worked them extra hard on Christmas. The city was quiet and he took advantage of that to run drills. It had always been one of Five’s least favorite days.

None of them had, therefore, grown up religious. Five was still agnostic. He couldn’t say atheist, per se. His beliefs were shaped by the unique experience of occasionally discussing the afterlife with his dead brother. So what can you do?

Klaus converted to Judaism. He and Dave had celebrated Hanukkah in the early days. When he converted, Klaus told Five privately: "I don't know if they have the answers. I certainly don't. But I know there is something more out there and I find peace in the rituals. Besides, it means a lot to Dave." 

They had expanded their holiday celebration rapidly as they expanded their family. It had been important to Klaus and Dave that their kids be encouraged to explore their faith. The polar opposite of Reginald’s philosophy, Klaus’s was that everyone should feel at home during the holidays. 

They had incorporated Pagan symbols for Moon, who was Wiccan. Lena was raised Catholic, though she had converted to Episcopalian a year ago. Jerome had been raised in the Protestant church. He was exploring his faith, but he considered himself Christian. The two of them had a hand in the Christmas cheer sprinkled around the room. 

Jerome had also asked to celebrate Kwanzaa after a conversation with his Aunt Allison. Dave and Klaus had embraced the request wholeheartedly. 

June wasn't sure what she believed, so she just participated in all of it. She rotated services with those who attended and she seemed to enjoy the mixture of traditions in her family. 

Five was still getting to know Tony. According to Klaus, he had been an atheist when he came to Dave and Klaus. They had offered to clear a room of decorations if the Holiday extravaganza was too much, but he had been fine with it. "Honestly, the chaos of it all doesn't make me feel like I have to participate in any of it, so it's fine." 

Five walked over to the nutcrackers. "Some new ones this year?" Klaus collected nutcrackers, but this was Klaus so they were all a bit eccentric. Among the ones he didn't recognize were a rainbow flag nutcracker, a Cyberman one ( _ that one must be for Dave _ ), a pairing of Nightmare Before Christmas nutcrackers, and a scientist.

Klaus laughed. "Yep. Dave told me I had to stop, but Tony joked his religion was science, so I had to get him this one. He loved it, by the way. And, what, I am going to pass on these?"

Five shook his head. "Of course not."

Klaus looked up and grinned. He skipped over to Sissy and gave her a big, loud kiss on the cheek. He looked at Vanya and shrugged. "Hey, it's not my fault your beautiful wife stood under the mistletoe and you didn't even notice. You snooze, you lose."

A knock sounded behind them. "Oh look, someone who politely knocks instead of popping into my house." Klaus teased as he went to the door. Five looked at Vanya and rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t suppress a smile.

They heard a chorus if "heys" and in walked Allison with the kids, as well as Diego, Lila and Lee. Five sucked in a breath. Lee looked really good in green. He grinned at Five. Five felt himself grin back like a complete moron.

"How did you time that?" Vanya asked. 

"Oh, we picked them up from the airport and caravaned." said Lila. "Vanya, you have met my sibling, Lee." 

Lee grinned and waved. "Been a few years and a timeline away." His face became serious. "Glad to see you were able to find them."

Vanya smiled and introduced her family. There were hugs and kisses and the twins got passed around. 

"Everyone else is in the kitchen, finishing up. Why don't you get settled and we can meet back there. Allison, do you need help with your bags?" Klaus asked. 

"I got 'em." Diego said. 

"Okay, but let me take Ben and Ray." Klaus said, taking their chubby hands. Allison nodded and he led them away to see their cousins.

***********

When they redid the academy, the kitchen was a major project. Dave had pointed out that people tended to gather in kitchens and that Klaus had a lot of family. As a result, the small stove and dark room he had grown up with was gone, replaced with a large, open airy room with plenty of seating and counter space. It may have been overkill when they did the work, but now that they had a full house to feed, Klaus was grateful for it.

Uncle Ben was making faces at his namesake. The giggles filled the room. Ray was in Klaus’s lap happily eating crackers. 

Around them it was pure chaos. Luther was hunched over next to Moon, helping them with their pie crust. The house rule for their winter holiday banquet (Witchy Kwansmaskkuh as Lena called it) was that every kid chose at least one dish that either reminded them of home or that they loved. Luther would make it as long as they helped. Moon was making two this year. They had already completed a savory roasted brussel sprout casserole. Now they were trying to recreate a strawberry pie that reminded them of their grandmother.

By the stove, Tony hunched over in concentration. He was making meatballs. Klaus took some time to examine him while he was focused elsewhere. He looked to be enjoying himself immensely. Maybe Klaus could encourage Tony to spend more time in the kitchen. If it was of interest, it might give him something positive to focus on.

Jerome was making several dishes. He had just pulled a sweet potato dish from the oven and he was stirring a stew. He and Allison had chosen several new Caribbean and African recipes together. Klaus couldn't wait to try them.

June and Lena were done with their dishes, so they watched over Dave as he cooked latkes on the griddle. Someone had to taste test them after all. Lena had made tamales under the watchful eye of her mother, Maria. She made them every year and they were a favorite. She had also helped June make spiced nuts which were on the table for snacking. 

Vanya, Sissy and Harlan came in. The kids said hi to Harlan but they were careful not to overwhelm him. They visited frequently enough that Harlan was used to the semi-controlled chaos of their house.

"Dave, I put that book in your office." Sissy said. 

"Thanks, Sissy." Dave said. 

"Cider, hot chocolate and infused water are over there." Klaus told Vanya and Sissy. They didn't serve alcohol in the house. Mostly for the kids, but also for Klaus. He didn't remember a time he had managed to drink just one. Eliminating the temptation was the only way to make sure he didn't do something stupid. 

Klaus watched June and Lena giggling with Dave. Dave was mock scolding them for sneaking latkes off the pile and then pretending not to see when they would grab another. June was giggling. A loud, open mouthed laugh. It was music to his ears. 

"Fuck!" said Jerome, earning himself a bad look from Dave. "Sorry." He said sheepishly. "Cutting these turnips is driving me insane."

"Maybe the problem is that these nerds taught you. You probably just need a knife expert." Diego said from the doorway. He and Lila stepped in and were swamped with hugs. Diego joined Jerome at the counter.

Five and Lee followed shortly thereafter and then Allison and Claire. They spread out through the room, snacking on nuts and catching up.

Klaus felt something ease in his chest. The people he loved most. All under the same roof. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

***********

"What's happening over there?" Lila asked Diego. He looked up to see Five and Lee talking. Closely.

"Are they . . . flirting?" Diego asked.

"Sure looks like it to me." snorted Lila. 

Dave and Luther had kicked them all out of the kitchen. They had reached the final dinner prep stage and everyone was getting underfoot. The teenagers had retreated to a back room to watch TV and talk about the adults. Everyone else was situated around the living room. 

"I didn't see that coming." Diego replied. "They make a cute couple."

She grinned. "Still gonna give him a hard time, though?" 

"Oh yeah." He agreed.

Diego leaned back and looked around. Sissy was in an earnest conversation with Allison about protesting. Apparently, she was planning a demonstration. 

"Keep a low profile. Or at least keep this one out of trouble. " Five threw over his shoulder as he walked over to sit next to Vanya. Lee joined Sissy and Allison. 

The twins were wandering around the room. Ben came over to Diego. "UP" He said. Diego pulled him into his lap. He was sticky and wet, but he gave Diego a big sloppy kiss. "MU-AH" he said. 

"Hey buddy." Diego said.

Klaus flopped on the chair next to him. Uncle Ben sat cross legged on the floor. "Oh no, the poor kid has bad taste." said Klaus.

Diego rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Klaus. You are just jealous that I am his favorite uncle. Isn't that right, Ben?"

Ben grinned and grabbed for one of Diego's knives.

"Shit, um, shoot." He held Ben away from his body so he couldn't get at the handle.

"IT" said Ben. 

He could feel the couch shaking from Lila's silent laughter. "Thanks for the support, Lila" he said sarcastically. But he couldn’t finish without laughing.

"HEY, ALLISON!" Klaus called.

"Shut up, man. She will kill me." Diego hissed.

Klaus grinned. 

"She's scary, dude." Diego hissed.

"IT! IT!" Ben said.

Allison looked over and raised her eyebrows. 

"I think Ben wants a snack. Is that okay?" Klaus covered. 

She nodded and he handed the kid some goldfish. Ben took a huge fistful and shoved them into his mouth, drooling everywhere. With his mouth full, he couldn't keep talking.

"See? All better." Klaus says.

"Thanks, man. I owe you." Diego said.

"Don't worry. I'll collect." teased Klaus.

**********

"Keep a low profile. Or at least keep this one out of trouble. " Five threw over his shoulder as he sat next to Vanya.

Vanya smiled up at her brother. "So, Lee, eh?"

He blushed slightly. "Yeah. And?"

"And nothing." She said. "It's good. He seems like a good guy and you have a lot in common."

Five shrugged. "I don't want to jinx it. My relationship history begins and ends with a mannequin." A look of doubt crosses his face. It was quick, but Vanya knew her brother. 

_ Ahh. Of course.  _ Vanya shrugged, trying to look unworried. Trying to convey assurance. "Look around the room, Five." She said. "None of us knew what the fuck we were doing and somehow we all found a way to build a life with others."

She held up her hands. "I am not saying you have to build a life with Lee. You barely know each other. I am saying that you can. I am saying that you deserve to build the life you want."

They sat quietly for a minute. 

"What if I fuck up?" He asked quietly. He sounded more like the kid he appeared to be than the man stuck inside.

Vanya looked at him. "You will." She said.

He looked at her sharply. 

"You will. And then you will fix it and you will learn from it and you will do better. That's how it works."

He nodded quietly. "I guess, if you can cause two apocalypses and still find a woman like Sissy . . . ."

She laughs. "Asshole." She said. But she didn't mean it. She laid her head on his shoulder. "But, yeah. She is way too good for me. Don't tell her, though. She doesn't seem to have noticed."

**********

Luther and Dave worked quietly and efficiently together. They had a system. The kind of easy teamwork that comes from being friends for a long time.

Luther wondered if Dave thought it was weird when he took Klaus up on the offer to live in the house. If he did, he never said a word. Honestly, it was probably not even in the top ten weird things about their family or their lives. 

Luther knew he was being sentimental with everyone home, but he loved this tradition. Getting to make a meal with his family. He spent his childhood thinking he had to lead them. To protect them. But now he saw that it was far more rewarding to work beside them.

He wouldn't pretend he wasn't glad for a small break. The kitchen had been complete chaos. So many people bouncing off the walls. 

He cut slices of the roast and arranged them on a platter. It smelled so good. He couldn’t help but sneak a small piece. 

"I can't believe how much work they put in this year. I think this is going to be the best one yet." Dave said. "Thank you for your part in all this. It means a lot to me and to the kids."

Luther started to say it was nothing, but he stopped himself. "It's a lot of work, but it's the good kind. And I know what it is to deal with trauma. Having a good outlet is everything."

Dave studied him a minute. Luther could feel his eyes on him as he carved the roast.

"You know, I didn’t have much family growing up and I had exactly 0 family members who loved me for me." Dave said quietly. "I can't believe I am lucky enough to marry into such a great family. You all work so hard to support each other. And you love each other, even if you don't always understand each other."

Luther smiled. "It wasn’t always that way, you know. But I know I don’t just speak for myself when I say we are glad you are part of the family too."

He stared at the roast to collect himself. He took a deep breath and put the platter onto the table.

"That’s the last of it. Shall we go get them?" Dave asked.

"They will probably notice if we eat it all ourselves." Luther teased. 

He steeled himself slightly for the chaos, promising himself some quiet time later, and stepped into the chaos.

**********

When you have toddlers, and especially twins, it's a rare occurrence to get to sit for a meal. In fact, Allison might have said it's damn near impossible. There were bites to be cut and spills to be cleaned and the kids always got restless before she could shove food in her mouth. 

Yet here she was, a plate full of food ready to be eaten and a toddler unconscious on her chest, sleeping in that deep, open mouthed, boneless way they do. She kissed the top of Ray's head and inhaled, taking in the smell of baby shampoo. 

Ben was also passed out in a rare double nap. His Uncle Ben was holding him and walking around the back of the room, slowly rocking him. Allison smiled at the sight. 

They had served themselves buffet style. They sat with plates laden with food. The smell was enough to make Allison's mouth water.

Klaus stood at the head of the table. "Before we eat, allow me to say a word." Everyone looked at him expectantly. He looked at each of them in turn. "As I look around this room, surrounded by the people I love, I can't help but reflect on this family and what we have built. I think about how far we have come and I know one thing is true: we have all gotten sexier."

Allison laughed out loud.

"Don't encourage him." Dave said, pulling Klaus down into his seat. But he kissed him anyway and whispered something in his ear that made Klaus grin. 

Allison shook her head, then dug into the food on her plate around Ray's sleeping head. Every bite was delicious and not just because she was used to whatever she could scrounge up after the boys were asleep. 

She peeked down the table to check on Claire. Her daughter was laughing with her cousins, completely at ease. To be honest, Allison didn't remember the last time she had seen Claire so relaxed. The teenage years are so hard. But being with her cousins seemed to take the pressure off. Either way, Allison felt a wave of gratitude for an easy night.

It was just about perfect.

**********

Things were winding down. Dave had mentioned coffee and there were talks of pie.

Ben was still holding his namesake. The nice thing about being dead was you didn't get tired. He loved this. He couldn’t interact with anyone normally and he missed tasting food on nights like tonight when it was all people would talk about, but listening to his nephew snore on his shoulder made it worthwhile. This was why he stuck around.

Suddenly, he saw a flash of light in the entryway. 

"Six?" he said.

"Finally" said a voice behind him. Five and Six walked into the dining room along with Eight, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, and Harlan. They looked older than they had when Ben and his siblings had last seen them. "Do you know how hard it is to travel between dimensions? We kept missing. I have met way too many mes tonight." He looked at Five. "We are kind of an asshole."

"What are you doing here?" Five asked. 

"Well, funny story." Eleven said, his face making it clear it wasn't. "We may have accidentally started an apocalypse and we need your help."

"But first," said Eight, "can we have some of whatever it is that smells so good?"

"Shit" the Hargreeves siblings in unison.    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's done. I can tell you now that you have read it that I was absolutely terrified to write this. It's so complicated and I have only done one other fic. I wasn't sure I could pull it off. I am shocked at how much I managed to write and I am largely pretty happy with how it turned out. I hope you liked it.
> 
> Thank you to every person who left kudos or made a comment. Special thanks to pavementgremlin for reading the last chapter and providing feedback. Also to sunriseseance for talking through a plot point with me. 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr for updates and hand wringing that I have taken on way too much here. 
> 
> Beta readers, feedback and/or a willingness to talk through this story with me would be greatly celebrated.


End file.
